


Infinitely Loud: Tales of Christmas

by Liaguar



Series: Infinitely Loud [2]
Category: IS: Infinite Stratos, The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: Christmas Party, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Drama, Gen, New Year's Eve, Other, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 22:35:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 44,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28732812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liaguar/pseuds/Liaguar
Summary: Christmas has arrived for the students of IS Academy. For Ichika and the others, it promises to be a time of connection. For Lincoln, however, it will be a time of reconciliation.
Series: Infinitely Loud [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2014318
Comments: 2





	1. An Introductory Tale

It was Christmas Break at the IS Academy, and almost all the students has gone home. Barely a soul remained to disturb the haunting peace of the hallways chrome. And as the few remaining dust bunnies bounce around the space, a faint noise can be heard-

"Wat'cha doing?"

"HM?!"

"Hey-o! Ho!"

"What are you doing here?"

"Just a little warm-up is all."

"For what?"

"A little contest with the boys. I hear there's a special Christmas present for the everyo~~~one!"

"They actually did it..."

And thus began the so-called ISL's first Christmas Break. Why ISL (Infinite Stratos League)? Well...

**THE DAY BEFORE:**

["There has been speculation that the IS World Community is considering assembling a group of skilled pilots to deal with threats similar to the Gospel seen in both America and Japan. While this has not been confirmed~~~"]

...blame it on that...news...for spurring Ichika and Lincoln into conjuring the craziest contest ever devised.

"THAT'S IT! GAME OVER, MAN! GAME OVER!"

"We need a cook-off! Secret Santa! Game-Of-Games! Anything!"

"No, we need something harder!"

"A Mini-Mondo Grosso!"

"We've had one of those every month! Let's take it to the streets and fight PUBG style!"

"A battle royale to GET THIS OUT OF OUR HEADS!"

"No, bad idea! Chifuyu-nee's definitely gonna bleach our ears now!"

"SUPERHERO MY COLD HARD BUCK TEETH!"

**THE DAY PRESENTLY...**

Across from the madness of 1025, Charlotte, Cecilia, and Houki were trying different hair styles.

Much to Houki's disgust, "Why'd I let myself get into this..."

"Because if you don't diversify your hair very often," Cecilia explained, "your hair will be defaulted to those shapes and split ends."

"My hair is fine without the ribbon, o-" Houki stopped short of her hair done in a wavy ponytail, "...my...god..."

"D'HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" Charlotte and Cecilia howled with laughter.

"I'm going to skewer you..." Houki collapsed, until she heard someone slamming the door open, "Who in the-"

"I AM CHALLENGING YOU ALL TO A DUEL!" Ichika.

"What's gotten into you?..." Charlotte was afraid to ask-

"NO EXPLANATION!" Ichika deployed his IS and rounded everyone up, "OUTSIDE NOW!"

Houki, Cecilia, and Charlotte lost their crud:

"ICHIKA?!"

"What the devil?!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~"

And as Laura indeed wrote, the rest of the students had gone home for the holiday season. Only the first-year students with personal IS units, and a small handful of IS Academy faculty, remained. They all gathered at the cafeteria for a "special" contest.

"What on earth is a "Secret Santa"?..." and Laura wasn't entirely on board.

Neither was Houki, "Game of all...is this an American thing?..."

"I think "Secret Hitler" might be too high-brow for some people," Rin smirked at Cecilia.

"Oh, I thought you'd be the first to jump at the opportunity, Red Baron," Cecilia glared.

"Um, Ichika? Lincoln?" Charlotte asked nervously, "Would you care to explain this "Game of all games" you're imposing upon us?"

"Ok, so basically," Ichika said, "This is a Secret Santa tournament. Over the next three weeks, we're gonna play games that will determine how much money you're allowed, based on your performance in these games."

"Oh!" Cecilia exclaimed, "And at the end of the period, the total earnings will determine our budget for the Secret Santa!"

"Yep," Lincoln interrupted, "but there's a catch."

"A catch?" Charlotte shuddered.

"What?" Rin squinted, "Like we have to give away parts of our earnings or something?"

"No, nothing like that!" Lincoln shoved a hat in everyone's faces, "The catch is: you're gonna draw for your Secret Santa right now!"

"Really now?" Rin got excited. Her competitive mind saw through this ploy: she could decide whether to play for money, or throw the games and buy cheap, depending on who she got, "I'm game!"

"Wait," Laura said, "What's the point of this entire competition again?"

"I'll explain as we go," Cecilia placed her hand in the hat first, "For now, let's start the game!"

"Hey, no fair!" Rin shoved Cecilia aside, "You did a sneaky!"

"Calm down, you two!" Charlotte pleaded.

Laura just sat there blankly and waited until everyone else got their names to pick the last one of the pile.

"Ok, now everyone open up," Ichika said, "Nobody reveal who they got."

Everyone nodded, thereby binding themselves to the Secret Santa code. But no sooner did they uncrumple their piece of paper did they realize how big a curveball they've been thrown.

Lincoln drew Rin's name, "Oh boy..."

Laura drew Ichika's name, "What? Ugh..."

Rin drew Charlotte's name, "Wuuuuuh?..."

Houki drew Lincoln's name, "Uhh...huh?"

Cecilia drew Laura's name, "Um..."

But...

Ichika drew Maya's name, "Huh? I didn't write this."

And Charlotte drew- "Que se passe-t-il?!" ...Chifuyu's name... "Allez au diable..."

"Judging from your reactions," but Lincoln did, "I'm guessing you got the wild cards?"

Ichika and Charlotte glanced at Lincoln, "Are you trying to kill us?..."

"I just thought it might spice up the competition," Lincoln joked.

"In a war, maybe!" Charlotte snapped.

"Wow, dude," Rin nudged, "I know we got it bad, but you didn't have to drag us down with you."

Charlotte stammered, "I was just-"

"Enough with the pre-game banter," Cecilia stopped the conversation, leaving Charlotte to whimper, "There's no point in complaining now." She turned to Ichika, "So, what's our first game?"

"Wait, already?!" Laura jolted.

"Well," Lincoln quipped, "if you would follow me," and led everyone out.

Houki said nothing, already thinking ahead to shopping day.

Laura followed along just to see how the rest of the competition would unfold. She snuck up on Lincoln, “So.”

"Ua!" Lincoln flinched.

"Mind telling what the purpose of this game is?”

"...spending their time more productively?..."

"Ahem..." Laura poked Lincoln with a wire dagger.

"YOWCH!" Lincoln jumped.

The missing persons had gone into the underground lab, and had just finished analyzing the core obtained from the attack on IS Academy. With a couple assistants.

"Analysis completed," Card Counter told Chifuyu, "Only 35% of the components used to construct the core are found within the common registry, and 3% of the components are foreign."

"Newly synthesized..." Maya muttered, "So this is a brand new core after all..."

"Then, how on Earth did Phantom Task hijack it?" Chifuyu wondered, "None of that would make sense unless this core had already been implanted into an IS and received by someone."

"Whoa," High Card our her hands out to physically halt the conversation, "You're saying somebody literally paid these guys to do it?"

"No, I wasn't," Chifuyu said, "but now that you mention it..."

"We need to make this information public," Maya pleaded.

"And track down where the Golem originated," Chifuyu added, "It's impossible for anyone to reprogram remotely into Tabane's lab."

Before the day started, Lincoln summoned High Card and Card Counter to assist Chifuyu and Maya in finishing the investigation of Core 468 and the Valkyrie Trace system. He passed on two random names to his sidekicks, who then gave those names to their assigned persons. Chifuyu got Cecilia's name. And Maya got Houki's. That alone motivated them to wrap up any and all unfinished business, hoping to completely forget about, or at least delay, the looming shopping day.

"Counter," Chifuyu said, "How long until we are able to extract the foreign components to their simplest forms?"

"With the equipment we have," Card Counter said, "Five hours."

"Oh boy, that's too short," Chifuyu sighed before signaling to Maya, "Prepare a conference call to Geneva."

"What?!" Maya exclaimed, "Why?!"

"We're gonna tell them what we found."

"Wha...WHADDAYA MEAN, WE?!"

High Card shook her head and texted to Lincoln, "Plan the remaining two as last-minute arrivals."

Lincoln saw the notification through tears of hilarity, as he had already failed the first game, "Ok, High...*SNICKER*...They'll be a secret..."

During the finale of the offensive jokes game, Rin grinned while staring down the entire group, "I have blue skin, multiple limbs, and extremely long hair. What am I?"

The group shrugged and waited for the answer.

And they got it. Rin struggled with her composure as she said, "Ugly."

"PBBTTT-HAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHA~~~" Mass laughter ensued.

"NO NO NO-HAHAHAHAAA-*SNORT*" Cecilia hated it, but the sudden twist broke her, "How...how could youuuuaaahahahahahahahaaaaa!"

"Can we cancel you now-hahahahaaaa?!" Charlotte seethed.

Houki and Ichika were lost causes.

"Oh man, that was rich," Lincoln giggled, "What'd you think, Lau-" his laughter stopped, "Laura?"

Laura remained expressionless, "What was I supposed to laugh at?"

And that in turn made Rin laugh, "PFFHAHAHAHAHAAAA! Oho, we have so much to teach you, sister!"

"Please, I already laughed at Loud's stupidity once," Laura groaned, "I do not need yours."

"Boo!" Lincoln wailed.

"Well," Ichika said, "That's a 100 yen budget for Laura, 50 for Rin, and 25 for everyone else."

"What?!" Houki complained.

"That's cheap!" Rin griped.

"But this only the second game," Cecilia pointed out, "I'm sure we have many more chances to earn budget money."

"Yeah," Lincoln said, "each worth a different value, too. I think there's two games worth 500 yen."

"Ok, that's enough for me," Charlotte stretched, "I think I will explore the campus at abandoned holiday season."

"Oh..." Cecilia shivered, and suddenly grabbed Ichika's hand, "Would you mind accompanying me to the shrine?"

"Uh...sure-ay!" Ichika was suddenly grabbed by Rin.

"And just where did you think you're going without me?" Rin demanded.

"Alright, can we talk about this?" Ichika regained his personal space, "Why don't we all go to the shrine, to get away from school?"

"Sounds good," Houki thought he meant her aunt's shrine, "I can lead the way."

"You?" Cecilia commented, "Oh, I forgot you were a shrine maiden."

"What gave you that impression?" Houki snarked.

Ichika led the group out, leaving Lincoln and Laura.

"Welp," Lincoln said, "I'm off to explore the legendary Sakura forest. What's your plan?"

"I believe Charlotte mentioned IS Academy's temporary abandoned status," Laura answered.

"That's all you," Lincoln quickly left, "Meet at the courtyard at 19:30 for the next game."

"Eugh..." Laura waited until she was alone to look for Charlotte.

Of course Lincoln knew better than to wander the city by himself, especially given the impact of the God-knows-what. In actuality, he was going to go to the Sakura forest after checking up on Margo. After that...who knows what this holiday season would bring him.


	2. A Tale of Things to Come

"Yes, there is an unregistered core at the Academy," Chifuyu told the person on the phone, "We have already tracked the previous location of its IS...Understood, we'll see you this evening." She hung up and returned to the lab.

"So, what'd they say?" Maya asked.

"Four _hours_ from now, Representatives from Russia, America, Saudi Arabia, and Spain will be here to inspect the core," Chifuyu sighed.

"Meaning?..." High Card asked.

"Meaning..." Chifuyu reluctantly held up Houki's name, "...we have to take care of this...We'll do it afterwards."

"Are we bound to the rules of the Secret Santa game?" Maya raised an eyebrow.

"Only in the sense that we cannot reveal who we're getting a gift for," Chifuyu shut down the lab, "Everything else is hogwash."

"Ooh!" Maya jumped out, "I know what to get my person! I'll just be aAAAA-" She ran into the hallways, only to slip on the floor two steps later and land butt-first into a stairwell, "Ay! Oof! Eep! Agh! Pui! Ouch! Waaa-" BONK! "Oooooohooo, my leg..."

Chifuyu, High Card, and Card Counter just exchanged funny looks.

"Let me know when those political hooligans arrive," Card Counter said as she fizzled out of existence.

"I honestly thought this would be...literally...a break," Chifuyu rubbed her forehead.

"It'll ease up soon," High Card reassured, "though I can't help but wonder what your brother's going through right now."

Chifuyu let out a small chuckle, "Something out of his control, if I know him well enough..."

Sure enough, right outside the Shinonono shrine...

"Excuse me! Can I have a word with the famed Ace Savvy?!"

"How is it you came across the mysterious IS?"

"Are you planning on forming an elite squadron of high school pilots?!"

"Were any of you able to confirm details of the unconscious pilot?"

...thanks to Lincoln's brand new "Spill All Beans" policy, the media was abuzz with international rumors, all of which seemed too far fetched to even consider. A small piece of the frenzy found Ichika and his group right outside the shrine and trapped them inside.

"We are not taking any questions or giving you any words to bend to your narrative!" Cecilia shouted.

"We'd really appreciate our privacy, please!" Ichika pushed them back, but it wasn't enough. The reporters kept pushing harder.

"You've fought the IS, surely!"

"Can you please provide any comment?!"

Ichika couldn't take it anymore, "BYAKUSHIKI!" He deployed his IS's shield, which jumped the reporters out of the shrine, giving Rin and Houki time to shut the gate.

"Oh my goodness..." Cecilia sighed, "I was about to suffocate..."

"Well, luckily, we found shelter," Houki said.

"Found shelter?!" Rin exclaimed, "They were waiting on us at the shelter! It was an ambush!"

"Alright, alright," Houki pushed her away, "Let's go in already."

Suddenly, Houki's aunt stepped out of her house and saw the pilots outside. "Well, this is a nice surprise," she smiled pleasantly, and startled Houki, "Have you come to give your friends an overnight stay?"

"No, Aunt Hitomi," Houki groaned, "We're just touring the city."

Cecilia and Rin's ears twitched, "Aunt?!"

"Oh, you're always so apprehensive," Hitomi slapped Houki's shoulder, "Why don't you lighten up for a change?"

"This is how I've always been," Houki said.

"Don't give me that excuse, young lady."

All of a sudden, Cecilia caught Hitomi's arm, "So, I hear you're the priestess of this shrine?"

And Rin caught the other arm, "You must've had some insane experiences back in the day."

Hitomi chickled, "Hmhmhm, a few," and allowed herself to be escorted in the dojo.

"Where are you going?!" Houki shouted, "What are you gonna-" she caved once the trio stepped inside and shut the door, "...can't I sit down for one second?..."

Ichika walked up to her back, "Well, we've tried everything we could think of to get you to open up."

"I have a reason, ok?!"

"And what would that reason be?"

Houki tried to think of a viable excuse, but she had nothing. "You're mean," she pouted.

Back in IS Academy, Charlotte and Laura were exploring the laboratory basement...the metallic, empty, wire filled, haunting, echoing laboratory basement.

"This seems like a step backwards, wouldn't you say?" Charlotte murmured worryingly.

"What makes you say that?" Laura was enthralled by the new ethereal environment.

"We're here to enjoy a Christmas Break, but this doesn't feel like-" WHOO "-AH!" She was spooked by a mechanical whisper, "...break at all..."

"I would expect as much from a pampered child of a corporate president," Laura sighed.

"I was forced to choose between changing genders and being disowned!" Charlotte snapped, unknowingly triggering a down-pitched echo to- BRMRMRM "HAHAHAAAAAA?!" ...rattle the walls.

"Even if you were disowned, you could always fight your way back to the top," Laura blindly said as she found an open door.

"Easy for you to say," Charlotte grumbled, "You're the commander of an elite Special Operations squad..."

Laura halted Charlotte's train of thought, "There it is," and pointed to the Golem.

Charlotte was unsettled when she saw how many wires were attached to it, "What is that thing?..."

"And you call yourself a Representative Contender..." Laura walked towards the Golem, "This is the world's first and only unmanned IS. It attacked during the first Class tournament this semester."

"Was it truly unmanned?..." Charlotte asked until she saw a computer screen detailing the battle report, "Oh...hm?" Upon reading further, "Unregistered core?"

"What did you say?" Laura was disturbed. She ran to the computer screen.

"Apparently, the core inside this IS is nowhere to be found in the current registry," Charlotte said, "Meaning this is a newly created core."

"Impossible..." Laura's mind ran through numerous possibilities, "The Creator would never allow her work to be brazenly desecrated."

"So, what could they have bribed her with?" Charlotte asked, "IS never go berserk on their own...do they?"

Laura thought about that possibility, but she was interrupted by a low growl. "Do I even need to ask?..." she peered.

"Yes?..." Charlotte quivered.

Laura flinched. She wondered whether someone-or something-had snuck its way into the lab and triggered some sort of defense mechanism. She immediately deployed her twin sabers, "Stay here." She slowly approached the Golem while scanning the environment for anything twitching. Then, she moved deeper into the dark recesses of the lab.

"Laura?" Charlotte meekly called, "Laura?!..." She tiptoed further into the lab, "Where are you?!..." Not two seconds after she said that did she hear a shrill scream. "EEP?!" She froze, "Laura?..."

"AAAAAAAAAA!" Laura retracted her arms and hid behind Charlotte, "B...B-B-B-B...BUH...BUH..." Soon, they saw a small shadowy figure emerging from the darkness, revealing itself to be a...

"I wuv u!" ...a cuddly little pink-

"...BEEEAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!" Laura freaked out.

Much to Charlotte's humor, "Hmhmhmhm, is that all?"

"You don't know the terrors, Frenchwoman!" Laura pointed.

"Please," Charlotte scoffed, "It was clearly abandoned by a tourist." She went over and picked up the bear, "Aww, you just wanted to feel loved again, didn't you?"

As soon as it heard that, the bear suddenly contorted its face into a neon blue distorted visage, with its eyes sunken in, a wicked grin opening up below its mouth, and a wet strip leaking out of its nose.

" _ **AAAAAAAAAAAAAA**_!" Charlotte yelped and blasted the bear with her Gatling gun, afterwards Laura shanked it with her twin sabers.

"I...wUv...YOu..." all of which did jack-

"MERDE!" Charlotte went pale.

"LAUF DAFÜR!" Laura turned tail and ran.

"POURQUOI ON DÉRANGE?!" Charlotte chased after her.

Once those two were gone, the bear stopped moving. A blue-haired, mysterious lady revealed herself from the shadows and picked up the bear. She dusted it off with her blue fan and snickered, "Aw, And I thought they could _bear_ the shame! Hahahahahahaaaa!" She tapped her earpiece, "The lab is cleared, Lady Orimura."

"Tatenashi?!" Chifuyu exclaimed, "You're there already?!"

"Well, we did say four hours."

"Ugh...stay there. I'm coming."

Tatenashi trashed the bear and whistled on out.

Charlotte and Laura stationed themselves at the school park, their legs sprawling all over the bench, and their lungs working overtime to calm their emotions down.

"What kind of...bear was that?..." Charlotte gasped.

"That was...the devil's work..." Laura gasped, "No doubt...someone has...impeded our investigation..."

"I'm calling it," Charlotte set herself upright, "Phantom Task has turned someone close to Miss Shinonono and let loose on us!"

"Don't be silly," Laura rebuked, "Tabane would've seen it coming from a mile away."

"Oh, why am I even talking about it?!" Charlotte jumped, "Lincoln had to have come into contact with them at some point in Michigan!"

"Hmm..." Laura mused, "I don't know about direct contact, but Margo was turned. Maybe she would know some-"

Charlotte suddenly zipped past the entire park, "Then, let us depart for the Metropolitan Police Hospital! I'll go on ahead!" She quickly made for the monorail the instant it arrived, and was just as quick to get off the campus.

"...thing..." Laura got irritated and followed her, "Wieso kümmert es mich?..."

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Hospital held some of the most wanted fugitives in the country, but it had its own special ward for those involved in IS incidents. One of the rooms in the ward housed Margo, who was still unconscious from the mental hijacking.

Lincoln was tending to her with her doctor, "Has she woken up at all after the fight?"

"Not once," the doctor shook her head, "Nothing we've done has been able to even remotely penetrate her comatose state."

"Oh..." Lincoln looked on, concerned if she'll ever wake up again.

"Have you been able to discern her motives, young man?" The doctor asked.

"Something tragic happened to her family," Lincoln answered, "and Phantom Task used that to lure her into their trap...made her fight me."

"That's a shame," the doctor responded.

Lincoln placed a card and some flowers by her hand. Then, he left the hospital and went to see the Winter Sakura forest.

Back at the Shinonono shrine, Houki just had the second-most miserable night of her life. She just had her most embarrassing moments spilled for Cecilia and Rin's amusement, including that one time she very loudly begged her breasts to stop growing. Now, come evening, it was time to put everyone's most treasured memories on display.

Via cooking. Wait, what-

"Um...are you absolutely sure about this?" Cecilia questioned this turn of events.

"What's wrong?" Rin quipped, "Mayo got to you?"

"Well, given my previous performance..." Cecilia recalled her sandwich debacle, "I wouldn't have-"

"Here," Ichika handed Rin and Cecilia some cooking utensils, "We'll show you how it's done."

"Really?!" Cecilia exclaimed, "You can cook?"

"Well, when you're an only child..."

"Hold up," Rin stopped them, "Where'd Houki go?"

As if on cue, Houki shoved the kitchen door open, "Nobody move! I'm in command of the task force!" Houki placed all sorts of food on the counter and grabbed a knife, "Everyone cooks their own dish! We're serving up a feast for our little family, got it?"

"A challenge, do I hear?" Rin grinned, "Outmatched, oh you all are!"

"Ohoho, you are on!" Ichika smirked.

Cecilia looked on at the two already starting to shoot a breeze over the oven flames. "I cannot be outdone by that tiny restaurant maid!" She snarled ("I heard that, 大嘴巴!"), "I'll have to show the utmost extent of my skill!" She started to create a broth with star anise, golden bamboo, seasoning, ketchup, Tabasco, meatballs-

"Uh..." Houki noticed a strange aura emitting from Cecilia's pot, "What's happening to your..."

"You need not worry about me, Miss Shinonono," Cecilia said while adding even more things, "I am in complete control of my station."

"Oh, I think I do..."

Cecilia stared at her broth for a split second before reaching for the paprika and mixing her...mix, "Almost...Now to match the red of the poinsettias..."

"Hold it!" Houki held out her hand.

"And just what do you think you're doing?!" Cecilia snapped.

"Just a little taste test," Houki snatched Cecilia's spoon and took in a mouthful of broth.

"Ah! No!" Cecilia was offended. Even more so when Houki suddenly dropped the spoon back into the pot, "Agh! You've contaminated the soup!" She swerved back, "How are you going to atone for what you've done?!" She blinked when she saw Houki's face turn dark red, "Houki?"

Meanwhile, Rin and Ichika were entering the final stages of their cooking.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this seafood business," Rin commented.

"I keep undercooking it..." Ichika groaned. He was about to turn the stove fan on when he heard

-FWOOSH!-

"What was that?" Ichika wondered.

"Probably just Cecilia messing around," Rin nonchalantly blurted out.

"Oh..." Ichika nodded. But the pair simply turned their heads, and they saw everything they needed to see: Houki's face blotched red with burning lava, inhaling brimstone and exhaling fire like a deranged behemoth.

"GYAAAAA!" Cecilia shrieked, "HAVE YOU NO RESTRAINT-" -SPLOOSH- "MY HAIR!"

"Uh-Huh..." Rin turned away again, "Just messing around."

"I'm suddenly thinking desert," Ichika dumped his fish and grabbed the milk.

Meanwhile, at the Winter Sakura festival in Shinjuku Gyoen, Lincoln stood in the perfect spot to catch some introspection: the only bridge in the park that just so happened to stride over an illuminated river, right under a pair of blossoming cherry blossom trees. He was still thinking about Margo and her family, and whether or not they would be relocated as well.

"Man, they'd love it here," he muttered. He brushed the petals off his hair when he noticed someone very peculiar leaning on the boardwalk, "Hm? Chifuyu?"

Not exactly. This woman had Chifuyu's hairstyle, but not her face. She was relatively petite in her stature, but she had a menacing expression that warded away everyone who even looked her way. Almost everyone. He was intrigued by her appearance and slowly approached her.

But she wanted nothing to do with him, "Come one step closer and you die."

Lincoln was already at a distance where he could discern her facial features, and they resembled Ichika.

_(He's also got a twin sister, but she disappeared too...)_

There was no mistaking it. This was her. The lost twin. Why she came here, he was determined to find out. He kept his curiosity expression and silently sneaked a foot forward.

"Tch..." the woman pulled out a silenced gun and fired two bullets on Lincoln. But neither of them even touched his skin, merely bouncing off and hitting the water. This caused her to become frightened, "Wha...how did you..."

SAVY SUITE — SHIELD 75/137%

"Easy, friend," Lincoln held his hand out, "We're all just looking to relax."

"Damn you!" The woman jumped into the bushes and fled.

"Hey, come ba-oh boy..." Lincoln jumped over the hedges and scanned the clearing, only to find no sign of the lost twin, "Ok...that quick," Lincoln turned back to the boardwalk, "I don't think she's a member of Phantom Task, do I?..." He deployed his wing units and floated high above the park. "With her frightening speed and flexibility...I think she is." He flew across the city looking for anyone with that hairstyle, but no one he saw matched that description. "Great," Lincoln shrugged, "So now, we gotta watch for any needles aimed at Margo." He floated back down to a convenience store. "Oh-duh...She's in the IS ward," he smirked, "What do you they'll do to her _the instant_ she sets foot in Margo's room?"

Suddenly-"Ahem."

"Huh? Hoozat?" Lincoln peeked under his armpit and saw Laura, "Hey! What brings you to the hidden objects?"

"I was chasing the cross dresser to the hospital," Laura said, "when she suddenly screamed bloody murder and fled my range of sight."

"Huh? Why would she come all the way out here?"

"I don't know interrupted, "but I have her IS signature." She pointed to the nearby intersection.

Where Charlotte, completely concealed by countless pedestrians, was humming a familial lullaby. The tune reminded her of a poem her mother would read to her every night. She wanted to stay lost within those memories forever. But then she came across...her mother's death... and the man that whisked her away to another world right after...

"What a waste..." she muttered.

"Waste of what?"

"WAHAHAHAAAA!" Charlotte yelped, "Uhhhh..."

"I would've preferred to remain on ground level," Laura hovered her head over Charlotte's, "What possible reason have you to make a privacy stunt?"

"Uh...well..."

"Does it have something to do with your past?" Lincoln asked.

Meanwhile, Chifuyu and Maya held a longer than normal meeting with several IS World Community Representatives, one of which was Tatenashi.

"So, we're all agreed," Chifuyu said, "Tatenashi will enter the IS Academy once the semester begins."

"And I will whip those pesky IS pilots into shape," Tatenashi proudly declared.

"Don't push it," Chifuyu reminded, "Remember who else Lincoln's acquainted with."

"Hey, if he got along with her, he ain't all bad."

"Uh-" Maya stammered, "Do you even hear yourself right now?!"

"She is quite right," a official said, "Remember, you'll be contending for Russia. Do not allow your personal inflections to distract you."

"You're no fun..." Tatenashi grumbled.

"What about the Golem?" A Saudi official demanded, "It was traced back to Iraq, which is mere miles away from my home!"

"Follow the Treaty protocol," Chifuyu said, "Tell everyone in the region that someone confiscated the Golem and drew it here. Show them the proof."

"Wouldn't that destabilize relationships in that region?!"

"It's much, much better than keeping it a secret or spinning some outrageous story," Chifuyu wafted that person away, "and I will be watching." Maya followed her out of the basement and into the park.

The other officials just stood there, blank faced.

"This is highly irregular!" The Saudi official blurted, "What right does she have to make such a brazen demand?!"

"She is the Brunhilde, after all," someone answered.

"That is not a valid excuse!"

"I think it sets up the bait quite nicely," Tatenashi said, "It showed a vulnerability in IS Academy that Phantom Task would loved to exploit."

"Are you trying saying that you would risk those students' lives just to forge a makeshift trap?!" Someone exclaimed.

To which Tatenashi said, "You got any better ideas?"

The officials looked at each other. None of them could come up with a plan that offered less risk without less reward.

"Exactly," Tatenashi wafted off, "I'll be enrolling in a month. Ta-ta!"

Back in the dojo...

"Honestly," Houki sat on the tatami with her eyes closed, "I can't leave for two seconds without somebody bringing down the house."

Cecilia, Ichika, and Rin were sat opposite Houki, slowly munching their food.

"I can explain, Houki," Cecilia tried to speak, "I was trying to make a decent meal for-"

"I can handle myself just fine," Houki glared at Cecilia, "unlike some people."

"Excuse me?!" Cecilia protested, "If you hadn't interrupted my thinking process, I would have concocted a decent broth!"

"Your broth came from the volcano, woman!"

"How preposterous!" Cecilia turned to Ichika and Rin, "Surely, they can see how much my cooking has-" cringe "-improved...by many leaps and bounds!"

Ichika and Rin already had their share of Cecilia's concoction. Ichika was struggling to hold his lava breath in, while Rin (having already been exposed to the death spices) showed very little change in demeanor.

"It was one leap and one bound..." Ichika murmured before reaching for his milk.

"Really?" Cecilia questioned, "But the paprika was supposed to give the broth a little kick."

"That wasn't paprika..." Rin said, "...that was raw chili pepper..."

"Ok, now you've overstepped your boundaries," Cecilia growled.

"Why don't you have a taste of your food, then?" Houki challenged her.

"Fine," Cecilia closed her eyes, "I think I will." She grabbed a spoonful and sipped it. The others waited for some kind of reaction for a good ten seconds. But all they got was calm and collected. "You would've never lasted a day in Le Cordon Bleu," Cecilia joked, "This is pretty standard broth."

"Huh...well, I'll be," Rin felt a slight admiration for Cecilia.

"Oh..." Ichika scratched his head, "Well, I guess if she says it's ok..." and just left.

"Let's go out to eat," Houki went away.

"So," Rin nudged her, "What's your secret?"

"There's no secret to my taste," Cecilia said, "Just you standard trial and error, until you get the flavor _you_ want."

"Uh-Huh...sure it is..." Rin smirked, then darted off.

Once the trio was gone, Cecilia could relax, and let out the massive ball of fire that had been building up since she took the bite.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Cecilia scrambled the dojo for anything to calm her mouth, "DRAGON! DRAGON! SLAY THE DRAGON!"

Meanwhile, Lincoln, Charlotte, and Laura were at a restaurant having a heart-to-heart-to-heart.

"Impossible..." Charlotte muttered, "Your family's in exile?!"

"Oh, yeah," Lincoln said, "Where they are now, I've lost all concern for."

"That is insane! Even after all they've done, they're still your family!"

"They couldn't butt out to save their own skin," Lincoln flatly dejected, "I am done with them," and downed his drink.

"Oh, I cannot believe you said that..." Charlotte groaned, "Do you even know where Lynn is now?...Or what her current status is?..."

Lincoln stopped for a moment, "...Probably going through the same thing I did...Last I saw her, she was wrapped in casts and bandages..."

"That's an odd sentence to utter," Laura said, "Given what has transpired, I thought you would want to reconnect with your roots."

"I can't do that, now," Lincoln answered, "Knowing them, they're gonna find all kinds of excuses to mitigate the damage. Well, it ain't gonna work. They're gonna fess up to the hard truth, and I'm not gonna be around to stave off the lightning." And with that, he took the table's trash and searched for a can, leaving Charlotte as Laura to wander if they should even bother with the Secret Santa gig.

"Should we even..." Charlotte mused, "No, no...this gives us even more reason to do the Secret Santa."

"Indeed," Laura said, "It is unusual for Herr Loud to exert this level of hypocrisy."

"Excuse me?!"

"For all his talk of letting go of the past, it seems that your disclosure of your backstory has triggered something in his mind to dwell on."

Charlotte dwelled on that. It seemed like Lincoln still had some strings attached to his past, and there was only one way to cut them off. "It cannot wait," she said, "We must confront Loud's feelings directly."

"Agreed," Laura nodded, "But we might be followed as well. We have to be discreet."

"You mean?..."

"Yes. No electronic equipment whatsoever ever, including the IS."

Charlotte slumped, "I wished you hadn't said that..."

Suddenly, Lincoln returned, "Hey, guys... What did I miss?"

"Oh!" Charlotte pepped up, "We were just...taking about, uh..."

"Your horrendous foot-eye coordination," Laura butt in.

"Where did that come from?!"

"Uh...ok?" Lincoln muttered. Just then, he received a text from Ichika, "Hm?...Oh! We're headed to the arcade for our next challenge!"

"Uh...arcade?..." Charlotte was not happy to hear that.

"Ugh..." neither was Laura, "More wasted time."

"C'mon, you two," Lincoln happily pushed them along, "What's the harm in blowing off a little steam?"

"That would burn whoever we approached," Laura said.

"I don't think that's what he meant..." Charlotte looked away.

That evening, the group reassembled at the local arcade, where Ichika issued a free-for-all challenge: just get as many tickets as humanly possible, as every ticket earned them one yen, and every single game had a chance to win some tickets. Needless to say...

"Oh, yeah! Mad dog!"

"Oh-Uh-Eek-" BOOM! GAME OVER "-Aww..."

...this night went better for some.

"I can't do classical games..." Houki muttered, finishing the game with only one ticket.

"Pffttt! You're pathetic!" Lincoln taunted while starting her solo run, "Are you one of those "New Age Millennials" we keep hearing about? 'Cuz I ain't never heard of one till now!"

"How should I know what a joystick is?!"

"Ah, quit your bellyaching," Lincoln grinned, "I'm buying it for all the ribbons you can buy!"

Houki growled and walked away. She wanted to relax, but it turned into another angsty night for her, especially when Ichika was too busy fielding questions from the local public. She found him talking to a bunch of girls near the juice bar and beelined toward the crowd.

"Look, it's not as they say it is," Ichika tried to get his point across, "We just came here to relax and hang out, not to go looking for the next big threat."

"Aw, can't you spare a hint?!" A girl whined.

"You have to come and hang with us!" Another begged.

"Yeah! We could have tons of fun and then some!" Someone grabbed his arm.

"I said, no," Ichika doubled down, "I'm here with my friends." The girls giggled before he said, "ONLY my friends. Not you. That's final."

"BOOOOOO!" The girls disapproved. But it didn't matter, because Ichika left them hanging there, without a trace. He stopped at the beverage stand, where Cecilia was drinking her third milkshake. And she saw everything he just did.

"You know," Cecilia said, "you just did something that could very well make you a public enemy."

"I know," Ichika said, "and I don't care." He looked around and saw numerous glances come his way, "Man, I didn't think the attention would be this bad."

"What did you expect?" Cecilia flashed her drink at a group of random bystanders, "When someone feels the need to pour their heart out, of course we'd get onlookers to our struggle."

Ichika looked to his right and saw Rin and Laura going crazy with the laser tag games. He looked left and saw Houki attempting to ward off numerous advances from other people. "I don't get it..." he scratched his head, "Is there a point to all this?"

"Who said there has to be a point?" Cecilia stretched her body and walked to his side, "Wasn't it your idea to come here and relax?"

"Ok, you got me," Ichika side and went to help Houki, "Hey, what's all the-"

"HIYA!" Houki reached for the hand that groped her and slammed it to the floor, and narrowly avoided snapping it off. That was more than enough to scare off those around her.

Including Ichika, "Uh...I'll be over there..."

"UH!" Houki saw him turn away, "Hey, wait! I didn't mean-Hey, come back!"

Elsewhere, Rin and Laura attracted a huge crowd at the Laser Tag arena, obliterating every opponent without receiving so much as a thin red line, for four straight matches.

"Another W in the bag!" Rin gloated, "Can't nobody touch us!"

Laura cringed at the sight of Rin, "Is that really necessary?"

"Gotta let them know, girl," Rin winked, "Let them know who's in charge."

The announcer suddenly came on, "Team Yin Yang is on a four-win streak, one short of the mega jackpot! Is there anyone that could possibly stand in their way?!"

Suddenly, a petite woman stepped forward and growled, "I'll challenge them."

Followed by random bystanders, "I want those tickets!"

"Me too!"

"That grand prize is mine!"

"I saw them first!"

The announcer got the message, "All players, take your positions!"

The combatants received their gear and entered the battlefield. The woman smiled slyly as she prepped her laser gun and her real one. As soon as the combatants positioned themselves in their ideal locations, the battle started. Laura and Rin took out half the players before reuniting at a boxed bunker.

"Did you see the way that pint-woman looked at me?!" Rin said while shooting.

"There's no doubt in my mind," Laura said, "That's the woman who tried to assassinate Loud."

"The hell, that's really her?!" Rin exclaimed before noticing two shots aimed at her. She ducked in time to avoid them counting against her. One of them pierced a hole through one of her ponytails, and the backdrop behind them.

"Hey, Miss Gloom-N-Doom?"Rin squinted, "Angry M blew a hole in my hair?"

"Use your IS," Laura responded, "Flank her from the front."

"Hehehehhhh..." Rin had a wicked idea, and immediately implemented it. She deployed her Ryuhou and set it to zero-power impact. Then she hopped out of cover and charged forward, lasers ablazing, "ARRRRRRRATATATAYAPABALABAAAAAAAAAA~~~"

The woman was stunned, "What the-"

"LASER EVERYTHIIIIIIIIIING!" Rin shouted as she mowed down the competition in front of her, while Laura stealthily took out the rest of the combatants, leaving only them three remaining. But the moment the last combatant fell, Rin released a full-powered shot blast.

The woman immediately ducked under cover and readied her actual gun. She intended to fire at Rin, but an incoming AIC forced her to fire behind her. The bullet was barely stopped, giving Laura just enough to prepare for the woman's follow up. Laura cut the second bullet with her wires, while trapping the woman in a brief CQC lockout. The woman then fired a laser at Laura's good eye, then a stray bullet behind her. Rin grazed through it and shot the bunker down, engulfing the space in dense dust. When it settled, the woman was wrapped in Laura's wires, being stunned by Rin's laser.

"Are you for real?" Rin giggled, "This chick was afraid of a middle school brat?! Seriously?!"

The woman tried to squirm her way out, but Laura only tightened the wires on her, crushing the gun.

"I suggest you leave now," Laura said, "before we humiliate you to no end," right before the woman's LT gear buzzed, signaling the end of the battle. Laura released her, and the woman made a hasty retreat. "Well," Laura commented, "That will certainly not be the end of her."

"Who cares? She can revenge all she wants!" Rin wagged her hand, "All that matters is I'm gonna get a sweet deal on-" the instant she tried to walk "-YAAAHAHAAAARRGH!"

Laura quickly hoisted her on the shoulder, "Are you wounded?" Her hand accidentally found its way to where the bullet pierced Rin's-

"AAAAHAAARGH, SHE SNAGGED A PIECE O' ME BOOTYYYYY!..."

Laura sighed, "You're in no condition to continue. Let's get you treated and recovered first."

"You can haul me to the winner's circle, lady..." Rin grunted, "I won that prize fair and square-"

The announcer suddenly bolted into the arena and shrieked, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

"What did who do?" Rin cocked her head.

"The arena!" The announcer pointed behind them, "You've destroyed it!"

Rin and Laura looked behind them and saw the arena shaken by their sudden attack. All the structures were either broken or damaged; one of the strobe light fixtures snapped off the ceiling and created a mini fireworks show.

Laura turned back, "For your information, you had a rampaging murd-"

"No, shh!" Rin shut her mouth before she could reveal the true cause of the dilapidation (which, in actuality, was still them), "Not here!"

"I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT!" The announcer chased them away, "OUT! GET OUT!"

Laura piggybacked Rin while easily avoiding the announcer and navigating around the fallen structures of the field.

"Oh no, ya don't!" Rin used Laura's wires to swipe the 5,000 ticket prize from the front booth, "Ok, now we can leave."

"YOU DON'T DESERVE THAT AFTER WHAT YOU DID!" The announcer bellowed.

"It's ok, bro!" Rin cooed, "Everyone loses to me!"

Meanwhile, Charlotte was having a rough go at DDR, "Oh! Uh! Eep! I can't-" trip "-AHAHA-OOF!"

Lincoln skipped off the pad and hung out on the rail, "Lost your step already?"

"How was I supposed to know feet could move so fast?!" Charlotte snapped.

"Huh?...What rock have you been living under?..." Lincoln got a laugh out of the surrounding crowd.

"Ugh...this shall not go unavenged..." Charlotte growled and loaded another credit into the machine, "I demand a rematch!"

"Oho, game re-on!" Lincoln happily accepted, until he heard-

"YEEEHAAAAA!" Rin's voice atop a blazing bunny, "GET ON THEM RAMP PYRE PEOPLE!"

"He's surprisingly athletic for a mere voice man!" Laura taunted.

"GET BACK HERE WITH THAT TROPHY!" The announcer chased them throughout the entire arcade.

"Ok, time to bail!" Lincoln grabbed Charlotte and ran out of the arcade.

"Dammit, Rin!" Cecilia heard the commotion and grabbed Houki's hand, "We must be off immediately!"

"But I was just starting to-" Houki was dragged out.

Ichika saw the girls dart out of the arcade and followed along, "Oh, we are so getting expelled..."

The other pilots raced out of the arcade, with Lincoln detonating a smoke card to conceal them long enough to escape the city. Once they made it back to the Academy in one piece, they quickly retreated to 1025. And they had themselves a big laugh.

"Good night, woman!" Lincoln chuckled, "What did you to the poor guy?!"

"Did you see the way his face turned red?!" Ichika said, "The whole town heard his rampage!"

Charlotte couldn't resist mimicking him, "GET OVER HERE!"

"Well, I think I know what we're doing over the break," Houki shook her head.

"Goodness, what will it take to lighten you up?" Cecilia joked.

"A lot?"

"Man, you guys are pathetic!" Rin commented on the group's ticket size, "Me and Laura got three times all of y'all combined!"

Charlotte and Cecilia froze, "Did I hear that right...Rin and _Laura_?!"

"Well, the laser tag was the only game that was worth my time," Laura commented, "And it just so happened that Lingyin was the only person competitive enough to propel to victory."

"Hey, what about me?!" Lincoln took slight offense.

"No offense," Rin joked, "but you wouldn't make a good wingman."

"Wha...how dare you!"

Ichika rubbed Lincoln's hair, "Are those duo goggles on too tight?"

The whole group laughed. Too much. They attracted the attention of the you-know-who. They heard the door slam open, and it was game over for them.

"Would you mind taking it down a notch?!" Chifuyu said, "I am trying to condense this semester into literally three pages!"

"Uh...yes, ma'am..." the group muttered.

"Huang, to the infirmary," Chifuyu responded, "Everyone else..."

Two minutes later, there were social media posts all over the web over the heroes of ISA _crashing an arcade_. To the heroes' horror.

And to Chifuyu's sadistic delight, "...I'd like to have a word with all of you. In private."


	3. The Tale of the Vagabond

_("._ _..your family doesn't love you...")_

There was a woman.

_("...I wanted a unique soul, not a hybrid...")_

A woman who would be haunted by her past every night.

_("...DO YOU EVEN KNOW HER NAME?!...")_

"Shut up..."

_("She's a has-been!")_

This night was no different. This night, she was walking around a neighborhood.

_("Can you even tell them apart?")_

_("Sorry, I thought you were a guy!")_

"Shut up!"

_("Easy, friend. We're just looking to relax.")_

"SHUT UUUUUP!"

-CRACK!-

She punched a mailbox in half. Then, she made for an empty park. She couldn't stand the idea of constantly being mistaken for her own twin brother. Or being looked down on because of her older sister. She shared their most distinctive physical features, on the face and hair. But she didn't share their skills. She didn't have her sister's physical prowess. Or her brother's sturdiness. Or their quick study. During her childhood, she was constantly touted as the inferior sibling. Always chasing after someone who's better than her at everything. It even affected her parents' mentality. She knew they should never play favorites. She knew that she was just as much an Orimura as they were. And yet...

"Hello?...M?..."

She was awakened from her nightly reminiscing and thrust into the real world once more. A world of enormity, where only a select few things matter in the grand scheme of things. And M was not among the select few. But the organization of her partnership was. This M woman, with her petite stature, betrays her outward appearance. Her desire to finally overtake the one person who ruled her life has blossomed into an obsession to kill her at the height of her power.

"I'd like a word with you."

And that obsession has spilled into the outside. Twice she attempted to kill off those that were connected to the relics of her past, and twice she failed. Once, when that agonizing reminder of what could never be dared to invade her mind, and again when she tried to tail him and bait his friends. Now, she faces the head of the organization. She stood in a luxurious room, with only a woman with blond hair occupying the kitchen area.

"Sit," the blond woman directed M to the dining table and settled her down with a cup of tea.

M said nothing. She pushed the cup aside and waited for the leader to scold her.

"So..." the woman sighed, "...you already know that we've forced a major threat to relocate over here, right?"

M gave no response.

"Well, you have encountered him, correct? Have you learned anything from him?"

That struck a nerve. "He's a stumpy sore thumb," M growled, "Don't even bother."

"Don't even bother?..." the woman repeated, "Then, why try to kill him?"

M knew why. She just couldn't bring herself to say it. All she did was grab her tea and gulp it down, ignoring the pain in her throat.

"Look," the woman said, "You're an integral part of our hit squad. We can't risk you taking unnecessary actions like this again."

"Hmph..."

"There will come a time when you will commandeer an IS of your own. In a few short weeks. But until then, do try to keep yourself in surveillance mode."

"The only thing that concerns me is getting payback from Chifuyu," M muttered, "If that kid gets in my, he goes down too."

And that was all she thought about that day. Under direct orders not to interfere in any affair until it is time for her mission, M lounged around in the open world, musing over the best method of taking out her greatest rival. She managed to walk a great distance that day. The next day, however, she didn't get farther than the local outlet stand when she noticed a familiar looking trio of girls standing by the local train station. She hid behind a column and used her ears to discern their plans.

And the first thing she heard was Charlotte's sigh, "I am so glad I chose to withdraw from this insane scheme of yours."

"This ain't some jealousy ploy to keep Lincoln to yourself, is it?" Rin poked, "I heard what he's been saying about you."

"It is nothing like that!" Charlotte waved her hands frantically, "I swear it on my life!"

"Hmph," Laura shook her head, "You would be dead by now."

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" Charlotte bellowed.

"Look, the plan is simple," Laura went over, "You need to convince the others that: one, I have been assigned a mission to scout Phantom Task, and two, Rin is visiting her father for a week."

"Do you realize how many questions that alone raises?!" Charlotte griped.

"Aw, just wing it!" Rin slapped Charlotte's ("YIPE"!), "I've seen what you can do on the stage. You'll be fine!"

"DO YOU MIND, WOMAN?!" Charlotte bellowed, right before Rin clamped her mouth down.

"Hey-hey-shh-sh-sh-shhhhh..." Rin whispered, "What are the chances of someone hearing us?!"

"I heard it..." M muttered. She took one peek and saw the pink ribbon girl stomp away while the other two rode the train away.

"Oh, I don't know where they get it from," Charlotte rubbed her head, "Confidence and brashness should never go hand in hand... and yet they somehow did it..."

M shook her head. She waited until Charlotte left to sneak out of sight. She didn't discern any meaning from the conversation. All she got was: there was a reason those girls left, and it tied back to Ichika and little Ichika. Which meant there's less people to protect her targets.

If only she could take Charlotte right now, though. But not only was she under orders of no conflict, but capturing Charlotte could interfere with her own plans, so for now, she could only tail the unsuspecting pilot. She made it to the monorail before stopping short of the ticket booth. She went to the nearest park and hid out there until evening.

Which wasn't the wisest choice because it triggered a massive flashback, to the night where everything went wrong. The cold weather, the dim lights, the trees bordering the winding dirt path...that was the place where it happened.

That night. She could mentally replay every single moment of it. The moment when her parents took her out for a walk. When her parents were fighting all the time whenever she was around them, yet said nothing when they gave her the finest coat they had ever bought... and then just left her. She had to go to the bathroom. Her parents accompanied her inside the stall. And when she was done, they were gone. She remembered not sleeping at all that night, looking high and low for her parents, but finding nothing. That broke her. She was the youngest sibling by a few minutes. Maybe that was why she was the runt of the litter. No, even if she was older, that still wouldn't change the fact that she was inferior to her sister. That was when the need to surpass her sister began to mutate. That was also the night when she was picked up by a mysterious figure who introduced her to Phantom Task.

The next few days were spent wandering the prefecture, perfectly retracing every step she took since that night. She briefly spent time in a coffee shop, where she would take time to replenish her body heat. She went inside a bookstore, where she visualized her younger self with an older woman who empathized with her, and laid out the plans to take the world by storm. She even visited an old neighborhood, stopping by an abandoned brothel. The very same where she witnessed her parents drowning in their own pleasure, seemingly free from all responsibilities and restrictions. The very same brothel she herself laid waste to, and where she slit her parents' throats, as an act of revenge, and as initiation into Phantom Task. She didn't need an IS back then, but she needed an outlet to vent her emotions, and that little sideshow was nowhere near enough to remedy her childhood. She pinned everything on the one person her parents would not stop comparing her to. The very person whom everyone worshipped, while mocking the younger "defective" lookalike.

"Grr..." she growled, "...Why couldn't you just leave me be?..."

Just then, she heard a familiar voice:

"Who even thought of this list?! Scavenger hunt my right butt cheek!" Lincoln's.

"Here of all places..." M really wanted to do him in, but knowing his IS capabilities, she would cause more ruckus than necessary, so she hid inside the brothel.

Problem was: Lincoln was on a team mission. A scavenger hunt...with the one person who could detect someone's mood like bad BO.

"Ok, next item is... a relic from the past?" Strong Suit triple checked the list, "Uh...wuh?"

"Maybe he didn't mean our past," Lincoln thought, "Maybe he meant an event that occurred in the past."

"Man, I hope so," Strong Suit tossed the list away, then looked around, "Oh! Let's check in that there fallen hotel!"

Lincoln saw it too, "Huh...convenien-uaa!" He saw the old sign and doubted himself, "Wasn't this place a little on the older side of things?..."

"Hey, we are not gonna cower just because of someone's crusty old dust bunnies!" Strong Suit stretched her arms.

"Do you even know what you just said?..." Lincoln sighed, seeing no feasible way to sway Suit away. He followed her in and reluctantly began the exploration, "I thought we were banned from entering places like this..."

"Dude, it's only a bad place if it's still functional," Strong Suit proclaimed.

Lincoln didn't buy it. He crept around some more until he smacked into a door, "Oof! Uh, what did I-MY EYES!" He saw the love. Thankfully it only lasted a split second before that door crumbled completely.

"Hahahahahaaa!" Strong Suit giggled, "Was that door too _thick_ for ya? Hahahaaaa!"

"Can we just grab some wood and call that a relic?!" Lincoln begged.

"Heck, no!" Strong Suit pushed him onward, "We gotta find an actual relic, or else we don't get that sweet yen."

M panicked a bit. Lincoln had just entered the room she hid in, and he came a few feet within her hiding spot. She thought he would leave her be and move on, but she didn't notice a certain picture dangling from the curtains behind her.

"Hey, Suit," but Lincoln noticed it, "What's that?" And as soon as he got in close... "Oh, gimme a break..."

"Heeeey, good find!" Strong Suit snatched the picture, "Well, well, looks like someone was enjoying themselves, eh? Eh?"

"Get that away from me!" Lincoln panicked.

Strong Suit couldn't resist, "Aw, don't get your...little Aces...all knotted! Hahahahaaaa!"

"Ugh," Lincoln groaned, "why do I even-" Suddeny, he felt a bit of a chill, "Uh...you feel that?"

Strong Suit felt it too, "Hm...feels like someone is watching us..." She materialized a barbell and crept closer to the curtain she felt the aura emitting from. The moment she tugged on the curtain-

-CHK!-

"DAIADADA!" Strong Suit felt a prick in her forearm and swung for it.

M ducked under the rubble, then popped up and thrust a knife right at Strong Suit, who was able to deflect it. M leapt over the barbell, but she didn't see a card explode her into the wall and knock her out.

"Nice one!" Strong Suit cheered-BONK- "-DOI...Uh..."

"Oh man..." Lincoln moaned. Their little scuffle was more than enough to bring the place down, "How old is this place?"

"Let's bail!" Strong Suit shouted as the place collapsed on them.

Lincoln saw M's limp body and decided to haul it out of the falling structure. They ran as fast and far as they could, then they went even farther, to the point where they were in uncharted territory. They soon found themselves in front of an onsen, out of breath and out of willpower to continue the hunt.

"Hah...hah...hah...I think...I'm gonna have to...phone it in..." Or, Lincoln was.

Strong Suit was still good to go, "Man, Gym Jones would weep at the sight of you."

"Can we just do some recovery?!"

"Can I give you a spine?"

"WOMAN, MOVE!"

M lay silent once again. She was dreaming of a happier time in her childhood. The only time she found true happiness was when she was alone one summer night, atop a hill overlooking an amusement park. She sat under a tree staring out at the night sky, illuminated only by the brief but colorful glow of the summer fireworks. Letting go of everything and surrendering to the beauty of the canvas of emotion...that was a good day for her.

When the fireworks ended, so too did the dream. She rubbed her sleepy eyes awake, and what she saw startled her. She was in a hotel room of sorts. All her gear had been removed, traded for a silk yukata. She was laying on a tatami bed, wrapped in warm blankets. She quickly sat up and felt something rattle on her knees. It was a tray; it had sushi, soy sauce, rice, and all the dressings that go with a luxurious meal in bed. "What the hell is this?..." she growled.

Just then, she heard several voices from outside. She forced the blankets and food off her and set her back against the wall. She heard splashing and giggling, and she crept the curtains open to have a peek outside.

It was the one person she saw. That one kid, who dared to approach her. He was by himself, listening to the voices from the other side of the fence.

"Tch...that dumbass..." M muttered. She swiped a pair of chopsticks and prepped them to stab. Then, she slowly opened the door and tiptoed outside. She came within a few feet of striking range before hearing-

"I didn't think you'd be up so quickly."

"Uh?!" M jolted, "How did you-"

"You did try to kill me...twice," Lincoln deadpanned, "I'd have to have learned something by now."

"..." she raised an eyebrow.

"And no, this does not disturb me in the slightest," Lincoln splashed his feet in the hot pool.

M really wanted to do him in. But she was under orders to keep it quiet. So, she played along, if only to get more information on him. She sat near the edge of the pool, a couple feet away from him.

"What's the matter?" Lincoln said, "Got nothing to say?"

M said nothing.

"That's bare bones," Lincoln continued, "because I got so much to get off my chest right now."

"I know one thing I can get off your chest," M mumbled.

"You mean, 'out of', right?"

M scoffed, "Does that mean you have accepted death?"

"It means that I've accepted what may come in life."

M thought he was speaking nonsense, so she gave up and left. She was about to open the door when she noticed a picture frame hidden behind his robe. She gently moved it aside to reveal the picture behind. Two seconds later, she regretted it. It was a picture of her parents, slothing themselves in pleasure. How long ago was this? And why was it the only thing that survived? She came seconds from destroying it-

"Ah-bup-bup-bup!" But Strong Suit slapped her hand, "This here's a very important artifact of great value! It would be a grave offense for you to destroy this!"

"What value?!" M snapped.

"The value of more brags, when we rub this little doohickey in everyone's face! They're gonna be so pissed! Hahahaa-" BONK "-Uey!"

M could not believe what she just heard. She shoved Strong Suit aside and snatched the photo. Then, she prepared to smash it. Or she was going to until she saw what was hidden on their faces. Their eyes. Lifeless, worn out with noticeable bags. Their time had come; they seemed to have accepted their fate.

"Tch!" M just threw the photo at Strong Suit.

"Ow?" Strong Suit said, "Angry much?"

Lincoln was curious now, "Did you know them?"

"What's it matter to you?!" M demanded.

"Well," Lincoln quipped, "you shot me in the hair twice."

"And the way you reacted to those two sloths," Strong Suit rubbed her face against M's belly, "What must it be like to hold a grudge against someone who already died..."

"Suit, what're you doing?..." Lincoln cringed.

"What? You had a run in with Lady Death Metal, too."

M clammed up. She felt that they had her. She quickly grabbed her gear and fled the onsen.

Lincoln just watched as she started to lose him. He figured that she had some connection to the people in that photo, but he had no idea what they did to cause such a knee-jerk reaction from her. "Man, does everyone have a messed-up past?" He wondered, "Feels like I attract the wrong crowd..."

The moment he said that, he caught Strong Suit with a snarky grin, nose to nose. And he knew what that meant, "Don't...you...dare..."

"Can I call you a masochist now?"

"DANGIT, WOMAN!"

"LIGHTNING ROD! LIGHTNING ROD! LIGHTNING ROD~~~" Strong Suit shouted. She hopped over the fence and blabbed everything to everyone on the other side.

Lincoln gave up, "Why haven't you fizzled out of existence yet?..."

M fled to an empty alleyway to process what she just heard, there by sending her into panic mode, "No way...that's not possible...he couldn't...he didn't..." That little brat saw her with that photo. She thought he figured out that those were her parents. "Yeah...That had to be it, but how? He couldn't have even know what they looked like, unless...unless..."

...unless a certain someone retained his memory and blabbed it to Lincoln. "No...not him...not him..." her panic slowly gave way to rage, "He's gonna pay...I'll make him pay..." And with that, she made for the Shibuya intersection.

She heard something about a scavenger hunt, so that would mean the other pilots would be out and about. She waited until nightfall for someone to come out. And who should she see than the trio: Lincoln, Charlotte, and her twin brother, he-who-shall-not-be-named. She was aware that her master gave her the order to not interfere, but her emotions got the better of her this time. She tailed the trio all the way to a neighborhood occupied only by dimly lit light posts, the perfect place for and happy little "accident".

But her brother was too busy wallowing in the aftermath of the scavenger hunt to notice, "Dude, Linc...what were you thinking?..."

"Hey, Houki said 'relic from the past'," Linc defended, "She did specify who's past...or what past."

"You cannot deny, however," Charlotte nudged, "That was a very delicate find. Worth a thousand yen, you think?"

"Get real, Charl!" HE griped, "There's no way it's that much!"

M tailed them to a certain house, knife ready to strike at [~~~]'s critical points. And not two seconds after she prepared to lunge at them did she stop frozen mid-movement. Because the house they so happened to be traveling to belonged to her parents.

"Remind me what we're doing here again?" Lincoln said.

"Well, since Houki won," HE explained, "we have to come up with a viable play date for her... and one other person of her choosing."

"And she wanted to come here?" Charlotte asked.

"Unfortunately..."

"What is going through that girl's mind?" Lincoln wondered.

"I could ask the same about Cecilia," Charlotte mused, "I recall her request for a one-on-one with [~~~] as well."

"Whaddaya mean, 'as well'?!" HE got a laugh out of the two.

M wasn't laughing. She remembered all the fights that occurred in that dreaded house, how she was continually berated for not living up to her sister's achievements. She also remembered how her sister swore to let no harm come to that house. And that other fateful moment, when she just so happened to come by that house the day after she was abandoned; she begged someone, anyone, to come to her rescue, and when someone finally did come, that person shut the blinds and pretended she never even existed. Once again, she had to flee; she thought she could never set foot near that property until she took down its sworn guardian.

The next day, she woke up near a river. She didn't know what she did last night, and she didn't care. All that mattered was that the pilots would be out and about again. She thought about going back to headquarters, when a certain noise caught her attention.

"IMMA FIRIN MAH LAZAAAAR! BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"

"What the hell?..." M took one glance. Just one. And it was that little brat again. How in the world does he keep popping up? And now of all times? It didn't help that Lincoln was with the blonde woman.

"And then, all of a sudden, one of my maids comes bursting into my room and complete souses my hair in unfiltered steam. Guess what happens after."

"Do tell."

"My hair rises on its own, and I become a hideous monster FROM THE SHADOWS AS I DESCEND UPON THE HELPLESS MASSES AND REAP THEIR SOULS TO MY HEART'S CONTENT! MUAAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!"

"Ugh..." M got up and wandered her way out of the prefecture. She didn't want to deal with them again, especially after that boy interfered with her twice. She made it back to HQ that night, where a certain orange-haired woman was waiting for her.

"What took you so long?" She questioned.

"Doing recon," M went back to her room. She was moments away from falling asleep when that woman interrupted her.

"You were getting awfully cuddly with that white idiot," she said, "Don't tell me you were planning on coming on him."

Nothing. Not a word.

"Don't you turn away from me, M," but the woman wouldn't have it, "I saw what you were doing with that kid." She approached the bed with a sadistic smile, "Would you like me to recreate that moment with you?"

"Autumn..."

"Huh?" The woman taunted, "I can't hear your-"

"You're weak," M caught her off guard. They backed away from each other, but the woman was fuming. M didn't stop there, though, "No wonder you let a blueberry bimbo beat you back to Canada."

Autumn clenched her fist, "That's it...You're dead." She lunged towards M, but as soon as she thrust forward, M simply rolled out of bed. Autumn went for a quick gut punch, but M deflected that fist towards the bed board while placing a knee right at Autumn's crotch.

But M didn't do anything. She simply nudged Autumn away and went to the bathroom. Autumn spat at her and reclaimed her composure.

The next night, M was summoned to the main laboratory. She was among the first to arrive, the other being Autumn, and a few other scientists. Autumn was wearing that smirk again, but M paid no mind to it. All that mattered was the assignment ahead, and the leader of Phantom Task had just arrived to give it to her.

"Good morning, everyone," she said.

"Morning, Squall," Autumn suddenly changed her demeanor; now, she was bordering on infatuation with the leader, "Did you sleep well?"

"I did indeed," Squall answered, "M's sudden racket notwithstanding."

M shot back a tiny glare.

"I wish you weren't so hard on yourself," Squall said, "Today's the day we begin our operation, after all."

"What operation?" M asked.

"What else?"

M nodded. Autumn brimmed. The entire team gathered round the table to discuss the operation.

"Autumn, you and I will go to Russia," Squall said.

"Really? You and me?" Autumn blushed, until she fully processed what Squall said, "But, isn't the Sarashiki family there to guard the facility?"

"Yes, but Tatenashi and Kanzashi are both here in Japan making preparations for their term here at IS Academy," Squall responded, "There's no one strong or versatile enough to catch us."

"What's our targets?"

"This," Squall lit up a projection of an IS, seemingly royal and prideful in design, "The Golden Dawn. A joint collaboration between Russia and Egypt. It just finished development and is set to be transported one week from now."

"This means you will finally get your own IS," Autumn said, "I cannot wait to see you in action.

Squall turned to M, "M, you will remain here to develop the Remover. This device must be able to latch onto any part of the pilot's body, IS or not. And it must be able to be removed and take the target's IS with it."

"Understood," M nodded.

"And M, do try to keep your sudden outbursts to a minimum."

"..." M didn't say anything. She simply turned around and set to work on the Remover.

For eight long days, she stowed herself in the lab, trying to drown out the noise of the outside world with her work. But although she succeeded in making a prototype, it was futile for her mindset. She found herself thinking about how that boy with white hair refused to back away from her, even after she attempted to take his life. She thought he would make her mockery of their encounters. She didn't believe for a minute that he would try to engage in some meaningful conversation with her. And yet...

_("Easy, friend. We're just looking to relax.")_

That was the first time anyone addressed her as a friend, casual or otherwise. Who in their right mind would ever do that? And why?

That was on the back of her mind ever since he said it, and her curiosity intensified while she was creating the prototype. Against better judgement, and because she wanted a test subject, she resolved to see him again and squeeze out a reason.

Squall and Autumn wouldn't return until after New Year's Day, so the week of Christmas, was spent searching for the white haired boy in earnest. Every day, M grew closer to her ideal design. But every night, she drifted to popular hotspots just for a chance to see Lincoln. She walked hidden among the locals, using gossip to guide her to where Lincoln could be. But the were so many supposed sightings of the pilot, and while they all pointed to the shopping district, they did nothing to pin down his exact location. All they did was aggravate her.

"Have you seen the fight in Royal Woods?"

"Who hasn't?!"

"I am still geeking about the IS off the gulf!"

"I didn't think that those boys were so brave!"

"That [~~~] guy was so cool!"

Hearing them sing praises about the one who shared her face almost infuriated her to no end. The only thing keeping her from going on a rampage was the fact that she didn't come for him. She kept searching for Lincoln until Christmas Eve, when she stumbled across-

"Did you see that silver hair?!"

"I know! I wish I had that kind of sheen!"

"Could do without that sideways cowlick thingy. Looked like she could poke someone's eye out..."

It was someone close to Lincoln. M traveled to the top of Tokyo Tower and peered into the city until she spotted two people with white hair, one with an eyepatch, and one with a hair tuft and buck teeth. "That's him!" M made her way down to the shopping center.

Where Lincoln and Laura had finished their little contest in the middle of the pack.

"Are you sure we can only use the funds allotted to us via the contest?" And Laura seriously questioned the rules of the Secret Santa, "If extravagance is the main objective, I can easily request-"

"Ehhhh, that'd be disingenuous," Lincoln countered, "The point of the game is sincerity. How much you were willing to go for someone you don't necessarily know."

"... I don't get it..."

"I'll show you what I mean," Lincoln took her hand and led her inside to find Rin's gift, "I only know that my person is a bit competitive and has a thing for sports, but that's not what I want to demonstrate. She went through some parent troubles, so I wanna show her that she has a family...of sorts...in us."

"That's a bit...too sensitive, wouldn't you say?"

"Since when has Christmas ever been nonsensitive?"

Laura didn't fully understand, but she went along with it anyway. Together, they scanned the shelves for anything resembling a well-knit family, but with a touch of sportsmanship. They spent five minutes talking about certain knickknacks before Laura stumbled across what she thought would satisfy Lincoln's requirements, "Would this work?"

"Hm?" Lincoln turned around, "Whoa...Yeah, that'll do it!" And extended his arm past the object Laura was pointing at, "Lacrosse unity, kit and photo! Where'd you find this?"

"Actually, I meant-" Laura hovered over a set of hockey sticks before being cut off.

"You're getting the hang of it, now!" Lincoln led her along the path, "Now, we gotta find a gift for your person."

"Sigh...idiot..." Laura murmured.

M watched them throughout their escapade. They went along to another outlet store and tried to use the same shopping principle on Laura's gift, and failed to a hilarious degree. M saw laughter, cunning, and a couple slowly but surely bonding together. Seeing them enjoy their time made M feel a mixture of envy and longing. Where was this kind of interaction in her childhood? Close to nonexistent.

It wasn't until the two left the food court that she was able to find them by themselves. They were outside, witnessing the first flakes of snow flutter down from the night sky.

"Hey, Laura! It's happening!" And Lincoln went nuts, "The legendary white Christmas! Haaahahahahahaaaa!"

Laura was enthralled. The pure crystal whites sprinkled and sparkled all around her, reflecting a glimmering image of her all the way to the ground, "So ein erstaunlicher Anblick..."

"This is what I've been telling you about," Lincoln recomposed himself, "A miracle that could only happen once in a lifetime. But when it does..."

"I get it, Lincoln," Laura said. Here was a marvel that she could witness with a companion uninterrupted...just the two of them frolicking in the snow, on the most important day of the year...Yet, she wasn't sure that she wanted to take that route. Just the two of them? It made her experience yet another feeling she hadn't felt before, only this one she heard horror stories about in her army days. Luckily, she didn't have to experience them, as Houki and Cecilia were right around the corner.

"Lincoln?"

"Yeah?" Lincoln popped up with a big snow nose.

"Are they supposed to be here?" Laura pointed at Houki trying on several male outfits.

"Oh boy," Lincoln thought, "Cecilia's taken on another unwilling mannequin." He immediately ran out to rescue Houki from the horrors of fashion shopping.

Laura sighed in relief, and regained her usual demeanor. Then, out of complete happenstance, "Have you come to kill us again?"

M emerged from the shadow of the alley, saying nothing.

"Watch yourself," Laura warned, "Because we will be," and left to find Charlotte and Rin.

M scoffed and walked away.

A few minutes later, Lincoln managed to set Cecilia and Houki right, but not before they all crashed into a fashion designer's worst fears.

"Ok...what just happened?!" Lincoln emerged in woman's clothing ten sizes too big, "Did I just flash ahead of time?!"

Cecilia walked out in a skimpy winter outfit, "This wouldn't have happened if you were to stay out of our business!"

"Why did we even have to go in there anyway?" Houki muffled through the coats and scarfs.

"We are all in need of a serious wardrobe update," Cecilia touted, "Just a few key accessories are more than enough to make anyone stand out."

"I thought the dress code didn't allow accessories..." Lincoln groaned.

"There's that droopy-eyes girl with hairpins," Cecilia pointed out, "and Houki has herself a ribbon."

Lincoln's hood covered his eyes. "Do those even count?!" He shouted as he stumbled across the entrance and into the street, "Hey! Who turned off the lights?!" He kept spinning around in the snow until all the clothing fell off him, and then he fell into the snow to control his dizziness, "OFF! Ooooohohhoooo, my lanta...uh..." Lincoln recovered just in time to see M leaning right on top of him, "Uhhhhh...Hi,again..."

M didn't say anything; she simply strapped her prototype Remover on him.

"Whoa..." at first, Lincoln didn't understand, "Are you trying to-" But as soon as he felt his belly tingle, he knew what M had given him, "Hey, hold it-UOGH!"

M yanked the Remover...and his belt...away from him. Then, she fled to the rooftops.

"No!" Lincoln recovered, "I gotta catch her!" He saw her silhouette from below and used her shadow's movements to track her down.

M kept bouncing off rooftop after rooftop, trying to get herself as far away from public eyes as possible. She felt the Remover vibrating violently, meaning she didn't have much time before it crumbles and the IS returns to him. She looked behind her and saw Lincoln hot on her tail. That's exactly what she wanted. This way, she could face him and get the information she wanted without being spied on. And she found the perfect spot. She jumped from a roof and slid down a lamppost to land safely on the ground. Then, she ran to a lone port for small boats.

Lincoln followed her. Once he saw the scenery around him, he got befuddled, "Whoa...what the heck is your angle?..."

Then, the Remover fizzled and exploded. The belt dropped to the ground. M picked it up and stared at it. She wondered how a mere standby mode could project so many vibrant colors.

Lincoln wondered why the woman hadn't tossed it into the ocean by now, "Did I get to her?...EEK!" He clanked his arms when she approached him, frozen in place by her fierce brown eyes. But his mind became even more befuddled when she...

"...here...take it back..." held the belt for him.

"Uh, really?" Lincoln got suspicious, "You're just..." then, he saw the remains of the device that stole his IS, "...did you get all the info you needed?"

"Almost," M had to remove all hesitation from herself in order to get this most crucial information. To that end, she turned her brain off, "...You called me 'friend' right after I shot you...why?"

Lincoln knew why. Chifuyu told him. But that was it. Maybe it was because of the slip of the past, but he always kept it locked in the back of his mind. But her eyes...deadlier than Chifuyu's death glare, and that was her default expression. Nobody has eyes like that on their own, "Well, it's...you look like you've been through some major crap without anybody noticing, so I thought...you could use...a..." Upon that valid and flimsy excuse, he stopped talking.

He saw her gaze conflicting itself. Her teeth were gnarled and ready to pound away at him for even suggesting that she had a less-than-favorable past. But her eyes...they faltered, ever so slightly, "Well, no shit..."

"LINCOLN!" Suddenly, Rin, Laura, and Charlotte's voices pierced the silent atmosphere.

"Guys?" Lincoln turned his back on M for a second, "I'm over here! I got the-" But the next second he turned around, she was gone, "...goods..." All that was left was the IS in belt form.

"Hey! Lincoln!" Rin was the first to arrive, "I got the call!" But she noticed him alone, "What happened? Where's the fight?"

"I... I don't know..." was all he said.

Laura and Charlotte then arrived on the scene.

"Lincoln?!" Charlotte panted, "Did she try anything?!"

"Clearly!" Laura pointed to his waist, "Look!"

Lincoln picked up the belt. "Sorry," he said, "Y'all missed the action."

"Aw, dangit!" Rin groaned, "I was really looking forward to schooling her again."

"You'll get your second chance," Charlotte said, "This will not be the last time we see her."

"Agreed," Laura nodded, "Now we know that she is capable of removing one's IS in standby mode, time is of the essence."

"We have to notify the others," Charlotte mused, "but after the New Year has begun."

"Huh?" Lincoln asked while donning his belt, "Why wait?"

"We can't risk spoiling what's supposed to be a momentous occasion," Charlotte led everyone back to the party's rendezvous point, "We must use this time to rally ourselves for the upcoming semester."

"Eh...good point..." Rin shrugged, "My gift is gonna throw my person for a loop," sneaky grin "and not in a normal way."

"I don't like how callous you were with that sentence..." Charlotte sighed.

Laura shook her head in disbelief. But then, she saw Lincoln's gaze turned offside. She knew what that certain look meant, "So..."

"Ah! Wut!" Lincoln jolted, "Uh...yes, Laura?"

"What did you learn about her?"

"Well...somebody in her past did her dirty."

Back in HQ, M had a bit of a mental episode...

"That little wench!...How dare he make light of me!...He couldn't possibly care!...He couldn't..."

_("To tie up a loose end behind my family, and to expedite the release of an innocent teen.")_

"He's just using me!...Taunting me!...He's planning to ruin me just like she did!..."

_("My family used me as a scapegoat to deal with their little issues ~~~")_

"No...he's going to get into my head!...I'll kill him before that happens!... I'll...I'll..."

_("First with Margo's brother three years ago, and now with Lynn's bad luck superstitions. In both of those events, I would have died were it not for the intervention of a non-family member.")_

M turned her brain on, and it conflicted with her heart. She watched the live broadcast and thought it was a bunch of hoopla. But now that she's come into contact with him three times, of which he did not try to fight back even once...

"I'll...What will I do with him?..." M muttered. She knew he was with the enemy. She knew he was well acquainted with her. And yet...

_("Easy, friend. We're just looking to relax.")_

...she did not want to kill him. Here was a person who legitimately tried to connect with her, something no one ever did before. Maybe all that stuff wasn't make-believe after all.

_("You're just a stand in. No one wants to bother with you.")_

_("No wonder even your sister looks down on you. You can't do anything right!")_

"Urgh...no...no..."

_("Come here, [~~~]. I'll take care of you.")_

"Shut up..."

_("Who is this child?")_

_("I thought one of you was bad, but two was a huge mistake!")_

"Shut up!"

_("Well, it's...you look like you've been through some major crap in the past without anybody noticing, so I thought-")_

"SHUT UUUUP!"

-SMASH!-

M crushed the remains of her prototype with her bare hands. She took a moment to breathe the anger out of her. She thought she knew what the world was like, until he came along and screwed with her perception. She needed to maintain herself while Squall and Autumn were away, so she retreated to the wash room. She treated her hands, massaging over the scratches caused by her outburst.

That same hand that chose to return the IS to its rightful owner, rather than claim it. Why? Why did she do that?


	4. The Tale of the Exiled

["Breaking news outside of Royal Woods, Michigan. Just two days after the attack on the Greater Detroit Metropolis, the IS has been identified as the Silverio Gospel, a Gen3 model jointly developed by the US and Israel, but believed to have been hijacked by and outside third party terrorist group. The pilot of the Gospel has been identified as Margaret Roberts, student at Royal Woods Middle School. Thanks to eyewitnesses on the scene~~~"]

That was the very last thing Lori saw on any media before being forcibly removed from her home. It has been two weeks since then, but it felt like two days for her. She remembered how her sisters felt when they saw the news that Lynn had been put out of commission, but she, Luna, and Luan were the only people that saw Margo as the pilot. Since then, she had plenty of time to reflect on her past and her present. She wanted a do over, as did many of her sisters, but that chance would never come.

Today turned out just like any other day. She woke up to the sound of gentle winds nudging her hair, instead of an alarm clock banging in her ear drums. On occasion she would normally wake up to the sight of Bobby and Ronnie Anne greeting her to the start of the day; but here, there was nothing but rice fields as far as the eye can see, save for a protective barrier that concealed their house from any prying eyes and sudden temperature changes. When she first settled down here, it was a very picturesque landscape; now, it was the only landscape she saw, day in and day out. She used to take to her cellphone to see what happened while she slept, and she would blast the AC or heater on to prep for the upcoming challenge ahead. Here, nothing. No electricity, no news...and no noise. Just the gentle breeze.

Lori was alone in the bedroom. She looked out the window. This house was the only thing standing. The closest neighbors were over forty miles away. She wiped the wax from her eyes and trudged her way to the bathroom. She scanned the hallway for any sign of life. Apart from one of her shoes taking a flower's place in a vase, there was nothing. She couldn't tell if anyone else lived here. The only sign of accompaniment was a stockpile of toothbrushes in the bathroom. Lori turned on the faucet and went about her usual morning routine...minus the company. And the risk of a broken faucet. And the sudden change of temperature in the shower.

She then walked down the stairs, taking note of the firmness of the frame, unlike the old stairway that could be rigged into a human plinko machine. She looked around the kitchen and living room. It felt like she was walking in the hollow insides of what used to be a home; it was their home now, but there was no soul. She walked to the front porch and looked up to the sky, taking in the brisk cool air that gently prickled her skin, "Whoa...I literally slept the afternoon away..." She turned to her left and half expected Lana and Lynn to kick up a storm, what with all the excess water that surrounded her new abode.

It wasn't. It was Leni and Lucy practicing aqua readings...whatever that meant. That was the closest thing to loud noise it got. Luan, Luna, and Lynn Sr were getting whatever edible plants they could salvage around the property. Lana and Lola were now Lily's stand-in caretakers, without the hilarity that normally emitted from their hijinks. And who knows what Rita was doing with Lynn's clean slate. The only exception to this entire move mood was Lisa; she had taken to her surroundings quite nicely, what with her studying the quality of the air and water.

Suddenly, she felt a tug on her shorts and looked down.

"Lori," it was Lana, "Lola's gone with Lily's diapers again."

"I'm on it," Lori followed her to her parent's bedroom, where a foul odor permeated the air, "Ulgh...yep, you weren't kidding..."

"Good grief! What did you eat?!" Lola couldn't bring herself to wipe Lily, "I gotta do something about Dad's brain bran!" She felt a tug in her hand, "Hey! What are you-"

"You're doing better, Lols," Lori guided Lola to Lily, "You just need to control your brain a little better."

Lola fought through the gag in order to finish cleaning Lily, who strangely didn't laugh or cry. She just sat there, fascinated by Lori and Lola's faces.

That night, a delivery truck came. It was cleared of all high-tech gadgets to be untraceable, and it was delivering food to the house every week. She was the only person willing enough to go outside and unload the truck. Strangely enough, this was the only thing keeping her in check. The fact that someone from the outside world decided to lend them a hand was what gave her hope for a return to normalcy. A hope that she acknowledged what utterly lost.

After that was dinner. No longer the rip roaring fire from the past, it was a silent affair, save for a few sentences. Lori observed as the sisters passed random glances at each other while eating. The most eyes went to Lynn, who was spoon fed by their mother. No longer the hot-headed ninja of uncontrollable energy, she had become docile and soft-spoken. This, Lori felt was disgusting, largely because she hadn't mustered the courage to tell Lynn how they came to be.

After dinner, the family gathered on what to do for the next day. Sans Leni, Lynn, Lily, and Rita.

"Ok, fam," Lynn Sr said, "It looks like we've gotten Lynn in a comfortable place now. I don't think we can delay it any longer."

"But who among us would be brave enough to tell her the truth?" Lucy asked, "And who can we trust to tell it in an unbiased manner?"

Usually, someone would be up in arms about who gets to do something versus who lost the right to do something. This time, it was Lisa alone.

"I believe that I have the full story worked out," Lisa said, "So I'll tell our amnesiac sibling-"

Lana raised an eyebrow, "Uh, aren't you a bit too blunt?"

"It's better than sugarcoating it and risking the truth be bent...again."

"But think about her reaction," Luna suggested, "How's she gonna take it without any memory to back it up?"

"Are you suggesting we use our tone of voice to bend her perception of us?"

"Think about it, dude! We could lose another sibling!"

Luan suddenly butt in, without batting an eye at them, "Maybe we deserve it...I mean, Lincoln took it pretty well...right?..."

"Not right!" Lola snapped, "He practically threw away his last name!"

"You don't know that!" Lana shot back, "He might come back and try to fix us!"

"Have you seen the kind of chaos we usually cause?!" Luan said, "Etro would take one look at our little cocoon and say, "Nope! Not worth it!""

Throughout the whole argument, Lori sat with her knees to her chin. She didn't feel like talking about anything since...

_("You can buy all the designer clothes you want, and it will literally change nothing.")_

...this was her fault. A part of her was just waiting for someone, anyone, to grill her about it and force her to own up to it.

Lucy was the first to notice, "Lori? You haven't said anything lately."

"I'd rather not..." Lori muttered, "I already opened my mouth once, and it got us into trouble."

Lisa heard that, "Not just once. Remember that time you rigged Leni's study material for her driving test?"

Luna pounced on the opportunity, "And that other time you-"

"ENOUGH!" Lynn Sr shut them down immediately, "Lisa, Luna, back to your rooms!"

"But, Dad!" Luna protested, "We're just pointing out-"

"Yeah, and you're also playing the blame game, and I will have none of it!" Lynn Sr doubled down, "Now, both of you, upstairs!"

Lisa and Luna begrudgingly accepted their grounding. They left them be while grumbled among themselves.

"Like now..." Lori rubbed her eyes.

And just like any other night, there were no willing participants to speak directly to Lynn. Christmas was coming soon, and time was short. Someone has to tell. If no one else was going to do it, Lori decided that she would.

When she trudged to the top of the stairs, she was confronted by Lola and Luna. "Oh, great," and she just rolled her eyes, "Like I need you to tell me what a horrible human I am, right?"

"You know it's true," Luna said, "You really think we're gonna forget about that?"

"Lincoln never forgot, and he left," Lori thought, "maybe I should do the same."

"Now, you're playing semantics and reflections," Lisa shook her head, "You've said nothing to us these past few weeks. Did you think that it wouldn't arouse suspicion?"

"Think whatever you want," Lori sighed, "I'm going to sleep." She tried to enter, but Lola blocked her way.

"You'll get your sleep after you tell us what you plan to do," Luna demanded.

To which Lori responded by punching a hole in the wall, causing the two siblings to back away.

Lori went to bed alone. This was the new normal for her. Every day, waking up to the solemn silence of the wind. Every afternoon, doing maintenance and field work to make their new house somewhat livable. Every night, braving the inaudible whispers of her other siblings' gossip by herself, locked in soundproof walls, while Leni cozied up with Lucy in the basement. She couldn't help but wonder how long this was going to be.

Little did she know that a couple of surprise visitors would devastate the cycle.

A couple weeks before Christmas, Lori woke up again to the gentle prickling of the wind. And she walked to the bathroom again to freshen herself up. This time, she was the first to awaken, meaning she had the honor of prepping the equipment to tend to the fields this day. She stepped on to the porch and stretched her gaze over the horizon. It was the same as always, even the vibrant shades of orange that mixed with the blue.

But while Lori was headed to the "garage", two unfamiliar girls were already there, hidden in the darkness:

"Wow...you were not kidding...look at my feet..."

"Silence. Someone approaches."

Lori heaved the overhead door open and proceeded to clean the equipment, even though it was winter. She still thought that the field could use a little arrangement. She was halfway through pulling out all needed materials when she noticed a disturbance in the air. "What now, Lucy?" Lori groaned, "I'm not in the mood for your spooks, so make it snappy."

German accent, "I am not Lucy."

"Right...and I'm a helpless little girl waiting to get bitten..."

Regular accent, "We're over here, woman..."

"I'm not falling for it..." Lori said, right before she went to work.

Once the morning sun came overhead, Lori could feel the strain on her body. She spent the morning gathering whatever greens she and Leni could use to knit some new clothes. Once she cleaned them, she put them on the porch, "Leni! Your hula stuff is here!"

"Ooh! Coming!" Leni stampeded down the stairs and crashed into the basket. She toppled over and landed face first in a pile of dirt.

"Of course..." Lori grumbled as she regathered the leaves. When she heard Leni muffling for help, she sighed, "You can dig your way out."

Leni seemed to have an idea, but it involved her two sandals. Luckily, she was pulled out by two unknown people, "Mmmm-MWAAAAA-OOF!"

The two sighed in confusion.

"Ok, lady," the twin-tailed girl said, "We need a plan of approach."

"Patience," the white-haired eyepatch girl said, "We will speak, but it must be when no one can see us."

"Oh, joy..."

When the sun began to set, Lori found her solace. She would wander the lone road until she found a oath in the greens dry enough for her to cross, not that she didn't mind the water. This particular evening, she walked for what seemed like forever, always staring at the sun, as if she felt left behind. She kept going until her feet felt blistered, and only then would she rest on the bank splashing her feet in the water.

This feeling of isolation, of oneness in singular presence...it's a sensation unlike any other. It was scary, downright terrifying... but welcoming. She wanted to feel it, despite its horrors. It's a strange sensation to feel for someone who thrives on constant interaction. She hugged her knees and closed her eyes as she attempted to envelop herself in this sensation.

Lori would have waited until the sun fully set to come back home. Would have. If it weren't for the familiar tingle of being watched.

Lori opened her eyes, "You know, Lucy, you can be a real pain in our shadows when you hover around us constantly." She turned around and... "Wha...Huh?!..."

She was half-right. Someone was hovering over her shadow. But it wasn't Lucy.

It was a silver-haired girl, with piercing red eyes and an eye patch. "You misunderstand," she said in her German accent, "My name is Laura. Not Lucy."

"La..." Lori stammered. But there was more. Another person emerged from the water, with twin tails and green eyes. "YAAAAAA!" Lori flinched, "Rice monster!"

"Rice wuh?..." the girl spoke, "Ok, I like rice as much as the next guy, but not that much."

"Wha...Huh...whew..." Lori managed to settle down, "Ok...Who are you, and why are you here?"

The silver-haired girl introduced them, "I am Laura Bodewig, and this is Huang Lingyin. We have come here to assess your current situation."

"Really?" Lori was suspicious, "On who's orders?"

"On the orders of IS Academy," Lingyin said, "We have come to evaluate whether or not you can be removed from hiding."

Lori knew better. The clothes those two wore did not disguise them in the slightest, because she remembered their faces from her video calls in the past, "Assess...riiiiiiiight..." she stood up, "You're Lincoln's friends from the Academy, aren't you?"

Lingyin slapped her forehead, "I told you she'd figure us out!"

"One of his sisters must have broadcast a past video call with an associate of ours," Laura said.

"Ok, stop," Lori put her hands out, "Why are you really here, both of you?" Before she could get an answer, she heard her father call out,

"Kids! Time for dinner!"

"Dangit!" Lori stopped everything and ran for her supper.

"Hey, Wait!" Lingyin shouted, "We still have some questions for ya!"

"Not now," Laura said.

"Whaddaya mean, not now?! This is the perfect chance to squeeze the juice out of her!"

Laura walked onto the main path. She waited until the sun was no more, "Actually, in a couple hours is the perfect chance."

Lingyin interpreted that statement to mean a nighttime infiltration, " 你在開玩笑... (You're kidding...)"

" 不我不是。(No, I am not.)"

"Aaa! When did you learn to-"

"Shh!"

Dinner was once again silent. Rice and sautéed green beans for the fourth night in a row. Lori looked around and saw that no one was making small talk, save for Lynn Sr, Lynn, Lily, and Rita, who ended up dining in another room.

"Has supper always been this uneasy?" Lynn asked.

"You don't need to worry about them," Rita said, "Just finish eating your supper."

Lori had the thought of starting a conversation, "So, Leni...how's the grass clothing set coming along?"

"Oh, it's coming along swimmingly!" Leni piped, "I already have crop tops ready for the older-"

"Ahem..." Luan nudged.

"What?" Leni prodded, "I was just telling her-"

"Ahheemmmmm..." Luan nudged harder, to the curiosity of the younger siblings.

For as simpleminded as Leni was, one of the few things she excelled at was emotional reading. She could tell that her sisters wanted her to stop talking, but she was not going to allow that, "You know something? If you don't wanna hear us talking, then just say so!"

"It's not you!" Luna said, "It's Lori!"

"Lori?..." Leni didn't understand.

"She said it herself," Lucy said, "Whenever she opens her mouth, trouble is bound to happen."

Lori raised her eyebrow, "Huh? I literally never said that-"

"You might as well have!" Luan snapped, "Has anything gone right every time we hear you talking?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Lana butt in, "This did not happen! At all!"

"Did the seaweed lodge itself in your brain?" Luan pointed, "Of course it happened!"

"Luan, enough!" Leni slammed her hands down, "Now I see why you wanted me to bond with Lucy." She grabbed her plate and left, "If you wanna tell her to shut up, then I'll tell her to keep talking!"

"Are you even listening to yourself?" Lisa asked.

"Why...yes," Leni turned around, "Yes, I am." And she was out of sight.

Lola sat quiet throughout that brief exchange. She understood why Leni acted like that, but still...the fact that Lori drove Kenneth to drive Lincoln to drive Margo to drive Lincoln to drive the Louds away from home just couldn't be ignored, no matter how hard she tried.

"Typical," Lisa brushed it off, "All heart and no intelligence..."

"Ok, that was...unnecessary," Lana muttered.

"And nobody heard me open my mouth?" Lucy thought.

"Guys, let's just finish our dinner? Okay?" Luna loudly called everyone back to their dinners.

Everyone nodded, though they kept their eyes on Lori, who didn't even bat an eye.

That night, Leni tried her darndest to convince Lori to let her back in the room.

"Come on!" Leni begged, "You'll be the star of the local fashion scene! I'll let you make your own summer wear!"

"One, I'm not a familiar artist of clothing," Lori said, "And two...what locals? We're twenty miles away from everything."

"We can start our own local community! We don't have to-"

"Leni, are you hearing yourself right now?"

Leni stopped talking and sat in silence, "I...just wanted to..."

"I know, but we still need time to adjust," Lori rubbed Leni's shoulder, "Right now, we're all still dealing with the fallout. It hadn't gone away yet. You just need to keep Lucy company for a little while longer."

"How long is a little while?" Leni asked worriedly.

Lori breathed, "Until after I tell Lynn what happened."

"What?" Leni was stunned, "You're gonna tell?"

"Well, we all know what happens when I say something, but..." Lori pointed to Lynn's room, where Luan was entertainIng Lynn and Lily since dinner ended, "...I don't know how long it can wait. They're actively trying to hide it again."

"But why..." Leni looked on, "Ok, I guess Lynn's happier."

"I might be the case that ruins it for her, though..."

Suddenly, Lucy barged in through the... "Excuse me."

"WAAAAA!" ...closet.

"Leni, if you're done consorting with her," Lucy said, "I'd like your opinion on some other fashion articles in my closet." She dragged Leni out of the room.

"Ok, so," Leni tried to call back to Lori, "I'll see you tomorrow-"

Lucy shut the door.

"Yeah..." Lori silently waved, "See you tomorrow..."

While Lucy walked Leni down to the basement, she got heated, "Why would you even think about conversing with that heckle-baited twitch?"

"Because she's still our sister!" Leni said, "We can't just pretend like she betrayed us all!"

"What else can we do? She hasn't said anything meaningful since we came to this desolate place."

"Maybe because she's scared that it'll inflate itself until it explodes in her face every time!"

Lucy stopped short of the basement doors and turned to Leni, "I know that... I can tell she regrets doing all those things to Kenneth person..." she lost her train of thought mid-sentence, as if she wanted to say something, but her heart prevented her from doing so.

"But?..." Leni pressed on.

Lucy blinked back to reality and turned away, "...but sorry won't cut it."

"What kind of malarkey is that?" Leni asked, "How's she supposed to redeem herself?"

Lucy thought for a moment. Then, she said... "... I don't know..." and just went down.

"Uh-Huh," Leni was getting irritated, "Exactly."

Lori settled herself in bed. She placed her head on her fluffy white pillow, but it felt like a hard rock. Not helping were the walls of solid soundproof silence, through which she could imagine her sisters' whispers...

"You think this much emotional baggage would kill someone."

"She would never survive outside her comfort zone. None of them would."

"God, make it stop..." Lori groaned.

"Wonder how I can get her to fess up in front of them."

"You are far too high brow for that base tactic."

Lori roller over, "I literally can't even get one-" only to find out that the whispers were real.

They just came from those two girls she saw earlier. One of them with a leg, head, and arm through the window, "Uh...hi?"

"Y-MMM?!" Lori's scream was instantly muffled by Laura's grapple.

"Screamer!" Lingyin climbed through the window and tackled them both. And she didn't let up until they all calmed down and set themselves on the floor.

Once they calmed down, however...

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't literally turn you into a human pretzel," Lori let them have it.

"Well," Laura returned fire, "because I have ten years of combat training and operations, while you have ten years of groveling and whining fro the comfort of your abode."

"Huh?..."

"And because I can already do that..." Lingyin contorted herself within ten seconds, making Lori go pale, "...unless you're talking about the forceful method, in which case...good luck."

Lori nearly fainted, but then she was saved by some talking in the hallway:

"I will do fine...Mom... I don't have any speech impediments so far."

"It's not that, Lynn...it's just...your sisters did plenty of horrible things to you."

"Is that why the entire house is silent? What did they do to warrant such a cold attitude?"

"I'll tell you when that time comes. For now, we need to get you ready for bed."

Lingyin and Laura heard it through the open door.

"Tell her what?" Lingyin wondered.

"Would it have anything to do with the Battle of Detroit?" Laura mused.

"Battle of...wait," Lori heard that, "Hold up. What the heck are you two _really_ doing here?!"

Lingyin looked at Laura, who nodded in solemn agreement. Lingyin winced in disgust, then turned to Lori, "Ok...we're not here to assess anything. We're actually here for your past."

"My past?" Lori thought they were crazy, "Why would you be obsessed with my past?"

"We're not..." Lingyin said, "Lincoln is."

"Lincoln?!" Lori didn't believe it, "The hell would he want with us now?!"

"Well," Laura said, "He did mention how he lost concern for your family's location. And he was very callous with the possibility of Lynn's current injuries."

"Hey, you don't know that!" Lingyin slapped Laura's shoulder.

"I was with him when he said that."

Lori stood stunned. She mixed those words with the very last thing she heard from Lincoln,

_("Oh my god...that has got to be the most...bullshit excuse y'all have ever vomited!")_

If what Laura said was true, then he really has abandoned his family. He really lost the affection he had for everyone, "Ha...haha...so that's it...he's gone..."

"Uh...are you ok?" Lingyin grimaced.

"In what part of our exchange is any of this funny?" Laura growled.

"All of it...all of it's hilarious..." Lori was stuck between laughing and crying, "All of it...it was a gas, hahahahahahahahaaaaa..." Deep inside, she knew it all along. And yet even now, a part of her was in denial.

Laura was creeped out, "What is she doing?"

"Oh, I gotta hear this," Lingyin murmured, "I have to know why you're craughing the heart away."

"Hahaahhahahaaaa...ohooohhhhhh..." Lori calmed down and closed the door. Then, she sat everyone on the floor, overcome with the need to tell somebody what was eating her, "Strap in, girls. You are in for the ride of your lives." And from there, she told them the tale of how she lost control of her subconscious and gave in to her inner desire to rule as the alpha female, AKA cause Kenneth to go awry, thereby causing Margo to hold secret resentment towards the Louds, causing everything else to happen.

"And that's how we wound up here in the sticks..." Five minutes later, Lori felt like a massive weight was lifted off her chest, "Whew...man, I needed that..."

Laura tilted her head, "I couldn't discern anything important from that..."

"I could," Lingyin said, "You're saying that you're the reason behind Lincoln abandoning his last name."

"Pretty much..." Lori nodded.

"And you hid the truth to protect your bond with him..." Lingyin continued, "Dangit if it didn't have the opposite effect..."

"It's crazy, I know...but it's something he would do even if all this insanity never happened..."

"Isn't that because you made him like that?"

"We made him like that because we forgot what he did for Lynn...and also because he's a male. But I have to wonder-"

Lingyin unconsciously interrupted her, "Would he have continued doing that if you told him?"

Lori looked down at her lap, "At first, no...But knowing how we function, it'd be a matter of time before someone else comes to defend a younger sibling, and then we all ask that person to defend us."

Lingyun looked at Lori’s eyes, "Is that what he meant by the cycle?"

"Cycle?" Lori and Laura said together.

"I heard from Night Club how he's been obsessing over the cycle, but it never goes away. It only changes form."

"What do you mean?" Lori asked.

"His new One-Off Ability...it requires him to take a massive amount of damage in one attack. And the damage he takes is converted to a healing factor he can use on someone else."

"Oh my god..." Lori gasped, "It hadn't gone away at all..."

"And there's one more sign of him not being able to fully reconcile with his past," Laura handed Lori photographs of the school battles, "Lincoln is able to materialize caricatured allies to aid him in battle. They all take on the appearance of his sisters."

Lori held one of the photos in her hand: a picture of her in her superhero outfit fighting alongside Lincoln in the second round of the team tournament, "That's...me..."

"She goes by the moniker "High Card"," Laura said, "She is the second ally he was able to summon."

"She came after Strong Suit," Lingyin added, "who takes on the appearance of Lynn."

"No way..." Lori gasped, "How often does he interact with them?"

"Darn near daily," Lingyin responded, "Just a week ago, I had a go at Strong Suit for a contest, and we had a blast. That's how real it felt."

"Gosh..." Lori was in awe, and not in the good kind, "That little brat couldn't let go at all." Now, she had questions of her own. To think that he molded his IS around his version of his own sisters...What did he put in them? What did he leave out? What could he have told them? Is he trying to build his own family? Has he gotten that deluded? "So...aside from his most recent outburst...has Lincoln exhibited any warning signs?"

"What do you mean?" Laura asked.

"Like, is he in denial of the past and present?" Lori explained, "And what gave it away?"

"I'm not sure I ever saw," Lingyin said.

"I did," Laura said, "He taught me to let go of my past. But seeing as how he declared out loud that he no longer cared for your well being, I'm not so sure that letting go is the wisest decision."

"Maybe, it's a sign," Lingyin thought.

"A what?" Lori scoffed, "Of what?"

"A sign that says, "Help me! My very identity has been compromised, and now I don't know who I am!" Or something to that effect."

"That's absolutely convoluted..." Laura groaned.

"Well," Lingyin shrugged, "it is what it is."

Lori wondered about that, "So, this is all just a weird...unfathomable way of saying that we have to patch things up before we can let go?"

"Yep," Lingyin nodded, "And I'm guessing that you or someone else botched something up."

The instant Lingyin said that, Lori knew exactly who botched up what...

_("You know a how broken up couple is just...friends with restrictions?")_

_("Ok. I forgive you.")_

_("...if we told you, you would hate us for it...")_

_("That has got to be the most...bullshit excuse y'all have ever vomited!...")_

Lincoln shouldn't have said that. He should have made them work for it. Instead, they got too comfortable (again); and when Luna and Lynn confronted Janice and Juniper, they let it get out of hand (again), causing them to have to rectify their mistakes (again) by supporting their hometown, inadvertently causing an even bigger uproar that victimized their own kin (...AGAIN).

An hour of talking later, Laura and Lingyin made their silent exit, leaving Lori with so much to think about.

"That was a lot longer than we needed...I forgot why we even came here in the first place," Lingyin scratched her head while following Laura, "The heck with the mission. I just got caught up in the moment."

Laura nodded, "I will admit, I'm at a loss to hear that the eldest sibling is responsible for this, with no feasible retribution in place whatsoever."

"What, you think she needs to be punished?"

"Yes, and she needs to make amends. When I was in the army, any mistake had to be rectified with a task that's thrice as hard as the one that was failed."

"Holy Toledo, that's brutal..." Lingyin exclaimed, but then thought back to their extended conversation with Lori, "but would they even let her do that?..."

Laura suddenly stopped, "Why don't we ask her?" And pointed to the tall grass to her right.

Which housed Lucy, "How did you know I was here?"

"I have my ways," Laura said. When Lucy stepped out into the moonlight, Laura read her expressionless (and eyeless) face, "Is there a point in asking you why?"

"Was there a point in you asking me that?" Lucy countered.

"No...there wasn't," Laura answered. She left with Lingyin following behind. Lucy simply waited until they were out of sight to return to the house.

The next day went on almost as usual for Lori. She woke up at her appointed time, did her appointed work, and ate her appointed meals. And throughout all of it, she kept wondering why nobody had told Lynn the truth yet. It couldn't be just to keep a content expression on Lynn. It couldn't be just to avoid the pain of losing Lincoln twice. There had to be something deeper.

There was a bit of downtime before bed, so-

"Lori! Help!" Lola called. Lori rushed to the rescue once she found out that Lily started running right after pooping.

After that, it was shower time for them.

"Ahahahahaaaa!" Splash time for Lily.

"Calm down, baby!" Lola begged.

"Easy, you two," Lori mashed shampoo on their heads, "No more horseplay tonight."

They blubbered water onto each other before rinsing everything off. They breathed East once the towels came on.

"Thanks, sis..." Lola panted, "I don't know what...I'd do without you..."

"Don't say that..." Lori dried her hair while juggling Lily, who looked at her with big googly eyes. "Alright..."

"What's alright?" Lola asked.

"There's something I've been meaning to ask you..." Lori had to breathe the words out of her, "Has anyone told Lynn the...you-know-what?"

"The huh?"

"The..." Lori cringed, "...the how I got us here?..."

Lola looked at her tiara, "No. No one's said anything about that. At least...not in front of Lynn. Or mom."

"Mom?"

"She's been acting so loopy that nobody bothers to talk to her anymore. All her time's spent with Lynn."

"Oh my..." Lori didn't know what to think.

When everyone else was asleep, Lori was still thinking about the cycle. She hadn't noticed it until a few days ago, but now she's thinking about how to break it permanently. Clearly, Lincoln couldn't fully do it, so someone would have finish what he started. She turned sideways and landed in a fluff of black hair, "...Doing some late night work, are we?"

"No, but you are," Lucy said.

"What is it now?..."

"What are you planning?"

"To follow thru what we promised to do when we got here...tell Lynn the truth."

"As much as I am for seeing someone suffer for my amusement," Lucy responded, "this I cannot allow."

"Why not? Didn't we vow to tell her when the time is right?"

"Only when the time is right."

"Well, we're delaying it by a pretty big margin, are we not?"

"We have to wait till she settles in."

"She'll never settle in," Lori sat up, "She's gonna always think we're her caretakers, not her family."

"I can commune with the spirits to unlock her memories," Lucy protested.

"If you do that, then she'll remember everything!" Lori started getting heated, "Why haven't you done that yet?"

"It's not the right time."

"When will it be the right time?!"

"WHEN I SAY SO!" Lucy bellowed, taking Lori by surprise. Lucy managed to regain her composure, "Look...just stay out of this and let us handle it. You've done enough." Lucy disappeared from the room.

"So, that's it?" Lori muttered, "I'm supposed to twiddle my thumbs while you butter her up?" She slammed her head back on her pillow and screamed. Then, she turned around, "Sometimes, I wish I could switch personas and literally become somebody else..."

"Why?"

"Uah!" Lori jolted. That was Lynn's voice.

"Why do you want to be someone else?" Lynn asked from across the hallway.

"How much have you heard?" Lori asked.

"Up to Lucy shouting," Lynn answered, "Hard to sleep after that."

Lori thought to herself. Now would be the perfect chance to speak her mind. Lynn was literally asking for it, so why not give it to her? There may not come another chance. If Lincoln was an example to go by... "Say, Lynn?"

"Yeah?"

"Is Rita still awake?"

"No," Lynn could still turn her head, "She's been sleeping for a long while...nothing I say will wake her up."

"Oh...any reason you need her-" Lori took one look at her crotch and realized that Lynn's involuntary functions have not stopped. This was one and only chance to tell her the truth. "Uh-right..." she wheeled Lynn to the bathroom and placed her on the toilet. When Lynn emptied out her bladder, Lori let her have it, "You wanted to know why I wanted to become somebody else?"

"Yeah, it sounded pretty intense," Lynn said while Lori was cleaning her up.

"Well, the truth is..." Lori hesitated for a split second before reminding herself of what Lynn could have been, which wasn't too hard, "Truth is..." she sighed, "...I caused you to become paralyzed..."

"...what?" Lynn didn't believe it, "But...how would you be even able to do that? You don't look like the type of person that would do such a horrible thing."

"Yeah, I'm not anymore," Lori said, "But in my past, I was. I..." She took in a deep breath, "When I was in middle school, I had no restraints. I felt like I could talk about whatever I wanted, about whoever I wanted. And so, when I saw this kid in worn out clothing, I..."

"...you bullied him?"

"Him?!" Lori was surprised, "How do you know?!"

"Rita told me," Lynn came clean, "But it sounded too wild to be true, so I wanted to ask you...but looking at everyone and how you guys are giving each other the silent treatment..."

"It made sense?"

"Well...a little bit..."

"I guess they're worried I might impose my will on them again...like I did Kenneth."

"So, Kenneth was his name?"

"Yeah...and Kenneth is Margo's brother. Margo used to be your best friend. You two would bond the most in sports. Volleyball, football, american football, you name it."

"I played American Football? Wow...didn't know that."

"Yep...and it was that last game that caused the avalanche on your body. These two thugs...they were hired by Margo to rough you up, and they caused you immense nerve pain."

"So...you bullied Kenneth, and that affected Margo so badly that she wanted revenge on everyone?" Lynn digested everything that was told to her, "And to that end, she employed all kinds of means and methods?"

"Yep," Lori nodded, "After that...I had to open my big mouth again and say that we're all going to Great Lakes City for Thanksgiving. That was what those thugs counted on, though. They sent in literal gangsters to terrorize us. Lincoln's team saved us from enslavement."

"Lincoln..." Lynn looked at the ceiling, then back at Lori, "...he's the guy that left..."

"Yeah. Our former brother."

"With that white hair? Eh, I don't see it."

"Mutations. Slot machines for the genes..." Lori commented, "But as it turned out, you stayed behind and didn't come with us."

"I was too hurt to move?" Lynn questioned.

"That was the excuse you gave us. But I thought it was something bigger."

"And...Margo was there."

"Yeah...from what I saw on the news, it seemed like she was the one piloting that dangerous IS machine. And she used you to get to Lincoln, because she wanted you to feel the pain of losing a brother, too."

"...Then, why was she friends with me in the first place?"

"To get your trust. Warm you up to her to get in close to you and expose your weak point to her."

"Darn, that's harsh...all that just you couldn't leave her brother alone?..."

"Yeah...Margo took out all her anger on Lincoln, and she would've killed him if..." Lori nearly choked on her words.

"If..." Lynn gently pressed her onward.

"...if you hadn't taken the hit..." Lori finally said it.

"Whoa...that is big..." Lynn gasped, "I took a hit for Lincoln?"

"A big laser...you jumped in and blocked the laser for him..."

Lynn looked down, "...the same way Lincoln must've taken a hit for me, all those years ago..."

"And as you might've guessed...I had a hand in that, too..."

"What do you mean?..."

"My bullying caused Kenneth to go on a streak of his own. It...came to a head when you got involved..."

"Oh..." finally, it sunk in on Lynn. Rita told her the basic story of how she came to be in a wheelchair, but if Lori could remember this much detail... "Then...that would mean you-"

"I caused our family to go into hiding."

Lynn sat silent. She felt like she was close to bonding with them, even though they haven't said anything to her past a greeting and an answer. But they never told her...this. No one would ever straight up say that they're responsible for wrecking their lives...unless they really did it, and they needed redemption. She wanted to get mad. She really wanted to rage with every fiber of her being, but she couldn't. She didn't even know if what Lori was saying was the absolute truth. This was the first time that she questioned her own memories.

"Lynn?" Lori looked on.

"I...I don't know why but..." Lynn gritted her teeth, "I...Something inside me's raging...It's like...I wanna punch you for everything you've just said..."

Lori looked down and nodded in agreement.

"But..." Lynn went on, "Something else is telling me to lay off..."

"Why?"

"I...I don't know..."

"Look," Lori reclothed Lynn, "It's ok to hate me. I'd literally be dumbfounded if you didn't. All I wanted was for you to hear the truth. And the truth is..." she set Lynn in the wheelchair and rolled her back, "...I set us on this path."

"And you want to undo it all?"

"No...I just wanted to-"

"That's enough," Lynn stopped her at the door, "I'm ready to go to bed."

Lori carried Lynn to her bed and tucked her in. They didn't look at each other through the entire exchange. They simply made their bed and slept in it.

The next day came and went. Lori woke up extra late today and walked onto the porch to take in the crisp cool air. It was the same sight she experienced for the last three weeks. Same work, same meals, same atmosphere. She felt content with this. However, the one change to the environment came from Lynn, who was looking slightly less jovial than usual. Most of the siblings didn't pick up on the change, mostly because she was still unsure about their true relationship. Leni noticed Lori's slightly upgraded attitude, while Lucy noticed Lynn's slightly downgraded attitude.

"Hey, Lori," Leni greeted her at the laundry room, "Noticed your not as gloomy as usual."

"Well, yeah," Lori nodded, "I had to get something off my chest..." she proceeded to unload the machines, "...but now, I got the ball rolling and finally I can start to fix things."

"Is that what it is?" Lucy spooked Leni from behind.

"Yes, it is," Lori responded.

Lucy shook her head, "You have no idea what you've done..." and left.

Leni turned back, "What you've done?...Wait, what have you done?..."

"I've formulated a plan," Lori heaved all the family's laundry into a basket, "A plan to literally incinerate the cycle." She then carried the basket upstairs.

Leaving Leni clueless, "But we didn't bring any cycles...or a giant fire thing...Meh."

Lori didn't even bother with the family dinner. She just rustled up plenty of food for the night and holed herself up in her room. Although, she could imagine what her sisters would be saying about her...

"Dude, what was she thinking?"

"We had a good thing going, too..."

"Can't believe she ruined everything for us..."

"Why didn't we stop her?!"

"What could we have done? She's a loose cannon now."

...among other choice quotes.

That night, Lucy snuck away from her usual dwelling and worked her way up to Lynn's room. She opened the door, "Lynn?"

"And that's how the thrill-seeker found his true calling," Rita finished a story.

"That was decent," Lynn metaphorically applauded, then noticed Lucy, "Oh. I thought you were sleeping."

"Don't mind her, sweetie," Rita brushed Lynn's hair, "I'll be sure to tuck you in-"

"Actually," Lucy cut her off, "I just needed to ask a question."

"There's nothing for you to ask, Lucy," Rita tried to brush her off, "Just go back to-"

"Mom?" Lynn interrupted, "May I speak to Lucy?"

Rita sighed, "Fine..." and allowed Lucy in.

And Lucy wasted no time, "Lori spoke to you last night. What did she tell you?" causing Rita to gasp in horror.

Lynn wasted no time either, "She told me the truth," causing Rita to faint outright.

Lucy's lip quivered, "No...she told you everything?..."

"Yes," Lynn nodded, "She also said..."

_("It's ok to hate me. I'd be literally dumbfounded if you didn't. All I wanted was for you to hear the truth. And the truth is... I set us on this path.")_

"I wondered why everyone was acting so quiet," Lynn declared out loud, "Now I know. You don't want to redeem her at all, do you?"

"I...I just..." Lucy was at a complete loss for words. She sulked her way out of the room, but made a mad dash to Lori's room.

But it was empty.

Its lone resident, outside. Freshly cleaned feet prepared to brave the treacherous dirt and blistering cold dust. Lori was fully dressed for the winter, tightly clutching the purse Laura and Lingyin left behind. She had phased through the barrier and was about five miles out from the house when she heard panting from behind her. "Hm?...Len-"

"Wait! Wait!" Leni ran until she caught up to her, "Whew...hhh...hhh...I'm going with you..."

"Wh-why?" Lori demanded, "Why would you follow me into the cradle?"

"Because...hhh...HOIE!...Ok..." Leni managed to catch her breath, "They're just looking for someone to pin their troubles on again! I don't want to be a part of that anymore!"

"O...k..."

"And besides," Leni pulled over a bag of her own, "You're gonna find Lincoln through all this? Sister, you gotta warm up in style!"

"What's in it?" Lori looked inside, "No way..." Buried under all the winter clothing, she found two objects wrapped in grass leaves.

"Lisa made these with using any tools!" Leni said, "We can use them to warm up, as long as we don't stop moving."

"Warm up? Do you have any idea just how hazardous the winters here can be?!"

"No, I don't," Leni shook her head, "But I can't let you go alone. You have to have a partner."

Lori sighed, "Sometimes, I think you are just too nice..."

"Whatever!" Leni grabbed her hand, "I'm here now! We can go see Lincoln together! We can fix this."

"And nothing I say will make you reconsider."

"Not a thing," Leni's eyes were filled with a determination not seen in any Loud since the Gospel.

"Fine, fine..." Lori gave up, "You can come."

"Yay!" Leni cheered, "So, what's our first move?!"

"Well, we're gonna run now," Lori picked up the pace, "Keep the body heated up!"

"Ooh! Is this our first dig at CrossFit?!" And there goes Leni, "I've been meaning to shrink my butt for quite a while now!"

Lori chuckled. For once, Leni let out a double pun, something she needed since the journey ahead was a treacherous one, and not for the weather. She had resolved to fix her mistake and break the cycle on her own terms. That was going to involve some heartache, and she had to be prepared to take all kinds of crap. But she didn't prepare at all, because there was no preparing her for the potential fallout of integrating back into society just for one person. It was just the two of them, trudging down a snowy road into the brave unknown.

And not a prayer in the world, "Not that kind of CrossFit..."


	5. The Tale of the Heart

The promised time has arrived. It was Christmas Day at last, and all throughout the campus released the festivities that have amassed. Preparations no more, for the work to pay off in full, so too shall the lone residents-

"Of this boring, boring hull?"

"HRAGH!"

"Hup-Ahh!"

"What is your meaning of this?!"

"What? It's a pre-celebration celebration!"

"For what?"

"Ahem...*inhale* CHRISTMAAAAAAAAAAS!"

"Agh! Ow! Ears..."

"GUYS! GUYS! WAKE UP!" -BOOM!- "AAAAAA! SANTA CAME! SANTA CAME!" -BOOM!- "WAKE UP! AAAAA! IT'S CHRISTMAS! IT'S CHRISTMAS TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIME!"

"Oh dear..."

Yes, it is Christmas Day at the IS Academy, and already there was promises of a lively affair:

"Rin?! What are you-UAAAA!"

"Someone control her!"

"CHRISTMAAAAHAHAHAAAAS!"

"Literally wuh?..."

"Get off me!"

Despite the sudden rush of two days ago where Laura and Rin returned in time for the final game of the holidays, the Academy was primed for celebration for all. And no one was more excited than Rin, who spent the last few Christmas days without a complete family. So, this was one occasion she was determined not to miss out on. And no one was exempt from her jubilation tantrums, not even 1025, where Lincoln and Ichika were sleeping extra due to their all-night decoration games.

-BOOM!-

"YOU TWO!" Rin burst into the room, but the boys were sprawled on the floor, snoozing unresponsively. She hoisted them onto her back, "GET THE ANCHORS OUTTA YOUR PANTS RIGHT NOW!" And raced them down to the residence lobby, "LOOK AT THE MIRACLE PLACED BEFORE US!"

"Zzzz...huh?..." the boys finally woke up, "Morning..."

"I SAID, LOOK AT IT!"

"Uaaaa-OOF!" The boys fell awake.

Lincoln was the first to feel it, "Ow, my pelvis..."

Ichika looked up at the towering Christmas tree, with all its glimmering decorations and radiant star, and he was instantly reminded of the pain of setting it up by himself, "Why is that even here?..."

8 HOURS AGO:

"Muaaahahahahahaaaa!" Night Club flew around the entire campus slamming decorations in their proper place, "Let no person or object escape my grasp! ALL WILL BE SUBJECTED TO THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT! AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!"

Ichika ended up coming in dead last in the Christmas contest, so his shopping lasted 30 minutes. The rest of the night was just a tedious process of setting up one lousy tree.

Ichika put up the streamers first, "Ah...not bad-"

"Not bad?!" And then in came Card Counter, "It's not good!" One button press and all the streamers came down, "Lights first! Then ornaments, and then streamers! Do it again!"

(THIRTY MINUTES LATER)

"YOU SHALL ALL FEEL MY CHRISTMAS JOY!" Night Club messed with the classrooms next, "I WANT YOU ALL TO FEEL WHAT I FEEL!"

Ichika finished the lights, but he was ten ornaments in when Card Counter corrected him again.

"Have you ever been to a formal function?" Card Counter griped.

"Uh...no..." Ichika answered.

To which Card Counter swiped a bell from the tree, "6.2 centimeter spacing between ornaments!"

(TWO HOURS LATER)

Night Club was in full-on Christmas fanatic mode, "NO ONE LOVES CHRISTMAS MORE THAN ME! DEATH TO ALL WHO CHALLENGE MY SPIRIT!"

"Calm down, Night!" Lincoln chased her around the residence hall, "There's still kids here!"

"What did you do to them, Loud?!" Laura chased Lincoln around the residence hall.

Ichika was still on the bulbs. He placed the last one on when Card Counter tore down ten percent of the decorations.

"Wrong!" She said, "Ornaments with the most striking designs go in the center!"

"Oh, bite me!" Ichika snapped, two seconds before Night Club's teeth rammed into his rear, "YAAAHAHAAAA?!"

PRESENT TIME:

"Is she like this in real life?..." Ichika moaned.

"Who's idea was it to decorate the entire island?..." Lincoln groaned.

Meanwhile, on the monorail out of the Academy, Chifuyu stared at the island, satisfied with the work the students have done, "About time someone did something right."

An hour later, everyone was outside, enjoying the white Christmas blessings.

"Yahoo!" Rin and Lincoln were first on the play, "Snow time!" They shouted while making very deep snow angels.

"My, this is quite the scene," Cecilia commented, "Snow on an island is an occasion is something to be treasured."

"You can say that again," Houki walked out wearing a winter coat, "You look like you're built for this."

"Well, you say that," said Cecilia with her white coat and fur hood, black winter pants, white mittens and earmuffs, and a goddamn transparent umbrella, "but I am terrible with extreme weather."

"This is extreme to you?" Ichika tilted.

"Come now, Ichika," Cecilia nudged him along, "We don't want this beautiful scenery to go to waste, now do we?"

"Well...I guess not," Ichika decided to let go for one day, "A walk doesn't sound too bad."

"Wha-how..." Houki got agitated that Cecilia pushed Ichika into her vibe, "Hey! Wait up!" She caught up to him, when a random snowball pelted her in the head, "Ugh?!...GRRRRRRR-*sigh...*" She decided to ignore it.

While Rin decided to confront it, "Lincoln, you fool! That was over before it started! I will now consider your unconditional surren-" she was blown back by a snow card, which caused a pile of snow to bury her, "-drr..."

"Heheh," Lincoln chuckled, "Sorry, Rin! I couldn't resist!"

Rin cleaned the snow off her, "So, that's how he wants it to go down..." With a renewed vigor, she unleashed her Ryuhou and converted it to a snowball Gatling gun. And with one deep inhale, "Hhhhhhhhhhh...AAAAAAAAA-" she unleashed utter snow hell upon the battlefield.

"Now, we're talking!" Lincoln accepted the challenge and engaged Rin in an IS Snowball battle.

While that was going on, Laura and Charlotte were building a snowman in front of the school fountain slash mini ice ring.

"I couldn't find anything worth anything..." Charlotte finished the contest in the middle of the pack, which for her secret person wasn't good enough, "I can already hear my person getting ready to complain about my gift now."

"I don't see the problem in your predicament," Laura responded.

"You finished near the top. I don't think you're in any position to comment."

"Oh, I think I am," Laura didn't know she put the carrot in the wrong place, "seeing as how you deserted us during our supposed escort to Hokkaido."

"I don't want to think about what went on over there. Not only of the cold weather, but also the cold shoulder that-uhhhhhhh..." Charlotte saw where the carrot was.

"You needn't worry," Laura said confidently, "We gave them a tool to mend their broken...what?"

"That carrot...Are you sure it's in the right place?..."

Laura looked at the carrot, then back at Charlotte, who seemed a little flustered. And all she could say was, "What's wrong with it?"

"A LOT!" Charlotte screamed before it was shot down by a pair of snowballs...which made it worse. "Oh, for heaven's sake!" she said right before she was buried in a flurry of snowballs, encasing her in her own snowman, "Mmmpmmhmm?!"

"Oh my..." Laura muttered before deploying her IS. She spotted Rin and Lincoln in the sky going absolutely insane with their snow-based weaponry. "Well, since you seem to have forgotten what today is..." she tuned her railgun to snow and aimed. She waited for Rin and Lincoln to clash, before firing a cannonsnowball right at them, resulting in a powdery icy white explosion that downed them both.

"Coup de grace..." she muttered as she blasted off towards the duo.

"Mmmmhmmhmmm?!" Charlotte was left behind for a split second before getting dragged along by Laura's wire daggers, "FMMMYMMMMM?!"

Meanwhile, far away from the hazards of the snowball fight, Ichika, Houki, and Cecilia were admiring the beauty of the snowy walkways lined with streaming lights and trees.

"Isn't it just grand?" Cecilia twirled around in the open, "It's like I've been blessed with a wonderland of sparkling white pleasures!"

"Well, it is pretty..." Houki said.

"Is that all you see?" Ichika asked while holding his hand out, "All I see is the opening of a wonderful holiday."

"You're too sentimental," Houki groaned, "You're never gonna win any battles like that."

"Since when has Christmas ever been about winning?" Cecilia walked to Ichika, "Why not take this chance to relax and enjoy the day for what it is?"

"Hey, good idea," Ichika nodded, "The Lake Bridge is supposed to reveal its true beauty at this hour."

"Then, what are we waiting for?" Cecilia took Ichika's hand, "Let's go!"

"Why would you-" Houki was powerless to stop them, as she was suddenly dragged along, "Hey! Stop!"

Thirty minutes later, the trio made it to the mainland, where they experienced a more whimsical change in atmosphere.

Ichika and Houki had time to take in the full Christmas decorations and local celebrations, walking around in awe of just how many people have forgotten about the ISL and just greeted them warmly.

"Merry Christmas!"

"God bless you!"

"Have a Happy Christmas!" Ichika waved back, "Did you enjoy the snow?"

"I did! It was so fluffy!"

"Let me know when you want to go sledding, ok?"

"Oh, that's a lot of fun!" Ichika fit right in.

"I'll be happy to show you my fashion modes!" And so did Cecilia.

"Yay! It's a snow angel!"

"You must share with me your entire catalog of clothing!"

But Houki, "..." she stood still. That was a problem she always had. She watched as Ichika and Cecilia flourish their expressions freely, while she couldn't learn to say "hi" to save her hair. Once again, that familiar feeling of jealousy and disconnect worked its way into her mind.

Until a little girl came and playfully tugged at her skirt, "Hahaha!"

"Huh?" Houki looked down.

"Hi!"

"Uh...Hi..." Houki got flustered.

"Are you here to see the snow?"

"No, not really..." Houki scratched her chin.

"My daddy says that snow is symbolic."

"How so?"

The girl stared into the festive streets, "It's a time of renewal and a cleansing. After mommy died..."

"*GLUP?!*" Houki was thrown for a loop the size of Saturn, "Uh...you don't say..." She didn't know how she was supposed to respond to that.

"Mommy loves the snow so much. We came out every night on Christmas Eve just to watch the snow dance with the pretty lights."

Houki zoned out, "Sure..."

Then the girl looked up at Houki, "Do you feel something when you're out in the snow?"

"Well...I guess..."

Suddenly, an male voice, "There you are!"

"Daddy!" The girl ran and hugged him.

"Whew..." Houki sighed, "...thank heaven..." she was relieved to not have to spill her heart out. But that was quickly replaced by Cecilia's approach.

"Well, that was a nice refreshment, wouldn't you say?" Cecilia flaunted, "I think I've become quite recognizable now."

"Dream on," Ichika quipped, then turned to Houki, "Hey, do you wanna warm up at a cafe?"

Houki just focused on Ichika's hand inside Cecilia's, "Ugh...thank hell..."

Cecilia's ears twitched, "*GASP?!* Miss Shinonono!"

"What?"

"How could you dare to utter such profane blathery?!"

"What? What's wrong with-"

"Ichika, change of plans," Cecilia stomped her feet and pointed to the largest shopping center in the prefecture, "We are going to have a beautification day!"

"Oh god..." Houki facepalmed.

"Do I need makeup, too?..." Ichika muttered.

Back at the Academy, Lincoln, Laura, and Charlotte were warming up at a sauna.

"Oh my god..." Lincoln moaned as the steamy vapor seeped into his muscles, "...I could get addicted to this..."

"It works wonders on my back area..." Charlotte panted, "It also does well on my flexibility," she then stretched her body.

Making Lincoln blushed, "Should I even be here?..."

"It will get even worse," Laura pointed to the door, where Rin burst in fully clothed.

"The heck are you slowpokes doing here?" Rin asked.

"We're still recovering from your recent-" Charlotte spoke, but she was dragged outside, "-GULAG?!"

"Y'all wouldn't last in the rugby leagues," Rin joked while rounding everyone up for a trip outside, "Come on, we still got 9 hours until the Secret Santa reveal!"

"HEEEEEEEEEELP!" Charlotte screamed, "Where are we going now?!"

"To the one place where Christmas shines its brightest!" Rin said.

"Can we at least talk about it first?!" Lincoln shouted before getting hit in the forehead- "OW!" -with a mistletoe, "PARASITE!"

He wasn't wrong. Rin dragged them all to the one place where he wish had never existed...

"Weeeeeeee! Come on, y'all!"

"I take it back...this is quite calming..."

"If you...say so-ua-OOF!"

...the outdoor ice skating rink, "Like...why?..."

"Come on, get the lead out!" Rin stuffed a pair of skates in his lap, "You never know if you don't try!"

"Oh, I tried once," Lincoln snapped, "I know. And I hated it!"

"Well, then," Rin yanked his shoes off and held him up by his legs, "Allow me to reintroduce to you the pleasures of gliding across the smooth white canvas," she said while prepping him for ice skating, "You'll be feeling like the winter breeze in no time."

Lincoln was stumbled onto the rink, "I don't think this is how it works-"

"Now go get'em!" Rin pushed him on.

"Hey!" Lincoln was thrust forward, "Wait! Wait!" His feet slid across the rink as his limbs floundered to and fro, just trying to maintain balance, "Heeeeelp!"

"What is even the point of this?" Laura questioned as she was stumbling as well, but on a much slower pace.

"It's to challenge the body to maintain a relaxed pose throughout a routine," Charlotte quiet literally skated circles around her, "And here I thought your super soldier training would somewhat translate into the rink."

"How would I have to maintain such a-" Laura nearly fell and waved her arms to keep balance, "-aaaAAaAaAaAaAaAa-" floof "-aaaugh..." she landed on Charlotte's chest.

"Hmhmhmhmhm, here," Charlotte chuckled and grasped Laura's hands, "Let me show you."

Lincoln took several laps around the rink before he figured out how to keep himself steady. Then, he started to paddle his feet until finally, "Hey, I'm doing it! I'm doing it! Hey, look! I'm-MUI?!" He was suddenly caught in Rin's hands.

"You seriously gotta watch yourself around these parts," Rin said, "lest you be caught running the wrong way."

"Oh...well, uh-"

"Heheh, come on," Rin swept him in her groove and ended up skating with him. She led him on a dance across the ice, full of twists and turns, and she managed to relax his nerves and gain his full trust in her; while Charlotte led Laura on a graceful walk through the Christmas forest, just enjoying the scenery and its stillness. The quad blocked out the people around them and stayed in the moment, and before they knew it, the pairs were in sync with each other, in movement and thought. When they finished, Laura found herself cuddled in Charlotte's arms, and Lincoln was striking a pose with Rin without realizing it.

Laura and Lincoln became aware once they heard clapping.

"Huh?!" Lincoln blinked, then he saw where his hands were, "Uh-I-this is-"

"I didn't know you were a natural winter man either," Rin grinned, "till now."

"Oh...well, I..." Lincoln blushed.

"Hey, you two!" Charlotte skated towards them, "I see you enjoyed your time as well?"

Lincoln and Rin settles themselves when they saw Laura in a docile mood, blushing a charming light pink.

"We did," Rin said, "What about you?"

"We took it easy," Charlotte answered, "and apparently, that was what we needed."

Laura didn't look up, "I have never been so mentally challenged before."

"Really?" Lincoln thought she said something else and said, "I thought you looked cute."

"Mm?!" Laura's ears twitched, "You...you think I'm...cute?!..."

"Well..." Rin took a second glance, "...now that you mention it, she does exhibit some degree of cuteness...definitely more than I care to emit..."

"Don't you mean, admit?"

"Nope. I can be "cute" on my own time."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow, "But it is crucial to attractiveness, no?"

"Haha!" Rin nudged her, "Girl, let me learn you a little some about~~~"

Laura spent the rest of the conversation in her daydream. The word "cute" was taboo in the military for a very good reason. And this was it, "He called me...cute...and made me...aaaahahahaaaaaaa-"

"Hello?" Rin said loudly, "Earth to Laura?"

"Huh?! Wha...?!" Laura blinked.

"Are you still hung up on that?" Charlotte asked

"I...I just...uhhh..." Laura stuttered. And then, she looked around and saw how many eyes were on her just because of her daydreaming expression. She grew even more flustered, to the point of embarrassment, "Uhhhhhh?!" ZOOM! "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~" Until she fled at breakneck speed.

"WAAII MEEEEEEEEE~~~" with Charlotte as her flag.

Leaving Lincoln and Rin behind in a pile of ice snow.

"Future Olympian right there..." Rin muffled.

Lincoln rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile, far away from the hazards of the ice, Houki was suffocating in the exaggerated "comforts" of the shopping mall. She suffered through the massive tunnel of countless fashion boutiques and outlet stores, but the was still no sign of the light. Even worse, she had to do it all while witnessing Cecilia cozying up to Ichika, who decided to lower his guard around her.

And yet she still couldn't bring herself to do the same. There was a small break given to her when the trio stopped at the third floor outdoor plaza.

"Oh my god...peace..." Houki panted on a stone bench, "...peace at last..."

"Come now," Cecilia said, "You can't be this exhausted after just one hour."

"Easy for you to say!" Houki lost it, "I haven't been this burnt out just with clothes and _underwear_! Friggin' underwear!"

"What's wrong with indulging yourself a little?" Cecilia twirled her shopping bags, "All's fair in Christmas and New Year's, as they say."

"Nobody says that..." Houki groaned.

"Hey, guys!" Ichika suddenly came up on them, "You're not gonna believe who's on the multicultural stage right now!"

"Who?"

And a quick two minute trip led them down to a music festival, where a male childhood friend was performing on the main stage with three other bandmates, one of them Dan Gotanda.

"Um...who are they?" Cecilia asked.

"Kazuma Mitarashi," Ichika answered, "The other friend from my childhood days!" He ran to the front of the stage and cheered, "Hey! Dan! Kaz! Down here!"

That voice pierced through the singing of the blonde punk-like guitarist, and made him look at the audience, until he found the source, "Hm? Whoa..." he turned around, "Yo, Dan! We have a special fan!"

Dan took his eyes off the crowd and looked in Kazuma's direction, "Ichika? Dude!"

While Ichika was waving at them, Cecilia and Houki looked on in confusion. After the band's concert was over, Ichika ran backstage to greet the band.

"Ichika, it's been way too long!" Kazuma bumped elbows, "How've ya been, bro?"

"Been swell, man!" Ichika responded, "And Dan?"

"Picking up everyone's slack, as always," Dan quipped.

"Oh, come off it," Kazuma rubbed back, "You know how much hair you drag on stage?"

"Can't help it. Ladies love my trim," Dan winked at several girls who swooned at the sight of him.

"Wow, the band's evolved, but you two haven't changed," Ichika said.

"I could say the same for you," Kazuma slapped Ichika's shoulder, "Despite the IS upgrades, you're still the same dense bowling ball you always were."

"Hey, I'm changing that now," Ichika stuttered, "I know how to watch myself...sort of..."

"Oh, it's coming together, alright," Kazuma said, "You wanna go grab a-"

"Boy, would I!" Ichika said before he noticed their eyes divert to his right side, "Hm?" he turned around, "Oh, I almost forgot!" He then walked the two faces over to the faces they saw, "Dan. Kaz. Meet Houki and Cecilia, two of my friends from the IS Academy."

Cecilia quickly caught on and bowed, "Pleasure to meet you, Dan and Kaz."

"So polite..." Kazuma cringed slightly, but held out his hand anyway, "Nice to meet you too, miss Cecilia."

Cecilia chuckled and shook his hand, "Well, this is a nice surprise."

"Yo, Houki!" Dan waved, "I hope you're treating Ichika well!"

"Uh-yeah!" Houki panicked, "A...I've been watching him since the start of the year."

"Tell me," Dan snuck into Houki's personal space, which freaked her out, "Has he ever made any moves on anybody yet?"

"Uh-wh-what are you talking about?..."

"You know I'm not like that!" Ichika smacked Dan's neck.

"Sure...in public," Dan smirked, "You should see what he gets up to when it's jut the three of us!"

"What?!" Cecilia blushed.

"Ok, now that's a foul!" Kazuma laughed, causing the others to laugh.

"Guys...ugh..." Ichika gave up. He led them to the festival main grounds where there was a cool down tent for them to relax and strike a good conversation.

"And then, out of nowhere, Ran shows up with her acceptance thing, "I'm going to IS Academy! And you can't ruin anything for me anymore!" I'm like, what did I do?!"

"Oh, god...I still remember the last thing she did..."

"Quite unruly, if I do remember correctly."

"What? I didn't see it," Houki piped, "What did she do?"

"Hey, come on! It ain't that bad."

"That's the problem, you dunce. It should be."

"Do you know what she'll tell my mom if I even try to stand my ground?"

"Stand your what?" Houki tried again, "Is it really that bad?"

"Oh, sister. You have no idea."

"Believe me. The puberty phase is horrendous."

"Ran's 14 right now."

"The struggle is _very_ real."

"Whaddaya mean by that?"

Once again, Houki coasted along the conversation. She just sat and listened, taking in each word as it built upon the established narrative. And for the first time in a long time, she enjoyed what was being said, despite not understanding it. But again, she was just listening, not knowing what to say or add on to the ongoing discussion.

By the end of the conversation, the sun had gone down, giving way to the fiery wave of energy that matched the energy of the festival. Houki had settled in with the rest of the group, but when it was time to dance to the music, she was as stiff as a stick of alumina, waddling around with no clue what a "drop" was. Cecilia and Dan cracked a smile while she was struggling to feel the beat. That was when Ichika decided to lend a hand and showed her how to move in time with the beat. And like any good teacher, he was hands on; only, he was literally hands on. His hands guided her through every movement, every step, and every shout, and Kazuma offered her a demonstration of each move. Houki couldn't tell if this was the best day of her life, because her only true friend was in close contact with her, or the worst day of her life, because he was in close contact with her in public.

By the end of it, Houki couldn't hide the red in her face.

"Uh, Houki?" Dan said, "Are you 'ouki'?"

Houki just murmured something incomprehensible.

Kazuma squinted, "Methinks the fair maiden stole thine own hair and claimed it for her own."

"Get real, Kaz! My hair's not that shaggy!"

"You're right," Ichika nodded, "but it could still use some fixing."

"My hairstylist is among the elite," Cecilia grinned, "I can offer you her services, no charge."

"Oh, save your pity for your own cup holders!" Dan plucked Cecilia's hair.

"At least, they're in fashion, unlike your do rag," game point Cecilia.

"BURRRRRRRRN!" Kazuma shouted.

"Geez," Ichika winced, "Didn't mean to take it that far..."

"You know," Dan gave Ichika a noogie, "I'm starting to think that you forgot everything these girls taught you!"

"Ow! Ow! Take it easy!"

"Hahahahaaa! I kid, I kid," Dan released him, "Well, it's been real, dude."

"I'll see you around the bend sometime," Ichika bumped elbows, "You too, Kaz."

"GG, my g," Kazuma waved. Then, he walked over to Houki and Cecilia, "Try to keep him outta trouble, would you?" And winked.

"Oh!" Cecilia blushed, "You can count on us!"

"..." Houki was still hung up on the dance and didn't realize what happened, until she was out of the festival grounds and sitting on a bench near the vibrant city street, "...um...Oh! Did you see what happened-"

"Yes, I saw," Cecilia said, "Two hours ago."

"Two hours?! No, no no no, that was like...thirty..." Houki just saw the night sky, "Where'd the sun go?..."

"Oh, dear me, Houki," Cecilia sighed, "Have you already forgotten what you learned in the fight against the Gospel?"

"What I learned...umm..."

"Hey!" Ichika ran out of a store with two bags, "Thought I'd treat you two to pre-present present."

"Ooh, Hotel Chocolat!" Cecilia squealed with delight as she received the gift from Ichika, "How thoughtful!"

"You're welcome," Ichika smiled. Then he handed a bag to Houki, "I got some white truffles. Finest in the region."

"Oh, Uh..." Houki gasped, "Um...thanks..." she took the gift and popped a bite to savor the flavor.

"Well, well," Cecilia smirked, "Looks like she's has you outmatched in density as well."

Ichika didn't get it, "Huh?"

But Houki did, "WHAT YOU SAY, BLONDIE?!"

The trio made their way to their final destination: the Sakura Park shrine, where Lincoln, Laura, Rin, and Charlotte were having a ball.

"So stinky, haha!"

"That is rancid!"

"Just why?!"

"Meh, I've had worse."

"Lincoln!" Ichika waved, "Guys! You made it!"

"Hey, dude!" Lincoln greeted him, "You brought everyone with you?"

"Of course he did," Cecilia chuckled, "Who would want to leave us behind?"

"Let's not..." Houki shook her head, "So, are we gonna get this over with?"

"Not yet," Lincoln winked, "There's still a couple guests yet to arrive."

"Really?" Rin cocked her head, "The heck might they be?"

"I've heard that guests often strike a piercing impression by being fashionably late," Charlotte thought.

"Well, they must have planned an entrance then if that's the case," Cecilia added-

"I wasn't planning anything."

"GUIUL?!" Everyone except Lincoln was scared stiff at the sound of that commanding voice.

"And I'm not late," Chifuyu's, "In fact, I got a breath to spare."

"So, this is the hideout of the Secret Santa, Huh?" And Maya's, "This looks like it'll be fun!"

The pilots turned to Lincoln, who wasn't the least bit worried about that meteor to the roller coaster ride. But once they settled inside the park observation restaurant, they were most fraught with uncertainty.

"Hey," Rin hissed at Laura, "Who invited the crackheads?"

While they watched Chifuyu down a glass of Chardonnay, "Ahhhhhhh...what a nice night for a little celebration, am I right?"

"Uh...yeah..." Cecilia giggled...sort of, "It is Christmas, after all..." she clutched Houki's arm extremely tightly, "HELP...ME..."

"I don't know!" Houki said, "What do you want me to say?"

Laura and Charlotte wore pupilless expressions.

Lincoln just rolled with it, "Anyway, shall we proceed with the unwrapping of the gifts?"

All eyes turned to Lincoln.

"What?" Lincoln got worried, "What did I do?"

"It's what you didn't do that worries us..." Charlotte said.

"What?" Chifuyu butt in, "You honestly you yahoos could anticipate my presence? Ha! I've seen sloths with quicker perception!" She took another swig from Maya's glass, "By the way, we were just playing along because we thought it'd be fun."

"Well, it kinda is..." Maya couldn't take her eyes off Chifuyu's drinking.

"Ok! Calling to attention!" Out of nowhere, Strong Suit slammed the table, "We will proceed with the Secret Santa gifts! So, who wants to begin the round?"

Dead silence for a whole half minute.

"Uh...ok...well," Lincoln sat down, "I'll go. Now, who would have gotten my gift..." he saw Ichika still in a daze, "Um...was it you?"

"Huh?" Ichika blinked.

"Did you get my gift?" Lincoln reiterated.

"Uh...no..."

"Aw..." Lincoln went back to the table, "Who else, Uh...Houki!"

"What?" Houki was still on the fact that Chifuyu and Maya were here.

"Did you get my gift?"

Houki looked around and saw everyone around her silent, eyes too wide open, and a little too worried for her liking. She momentarily thought back to her afternoon with Ichika and company. It was a warm feeling. So warm that she momentarily turned her brain off in order to attempt to recreate that feeling and reduce the awkwardness of the night, "What gave you that idea?"

"Well, you're Ichika's friend," Lincoln reasoned, "and I thought he'd spill some inane secret about some-"

"No, nothing like that," Houki said, "not that I'd be interested."

"The heck does that mean?"

"Exactly what it means, pipsqueak."

Ichika and Cecilia couldn't believe what came out of Houki's mouth. They thought she was going crazy, maybe a little insane with a laugh she and Lincoln shared.

"Ok, Lincoln, you got me," Houki held up her bag, "I got you your gift."

"Oh, wow, really?" Lincoln was astonished, "You bought it?"

"Sort of...I didn't do so well on the challenges. I only had enough budget to buy the raw materials to make the gift."

"Holy!" Rin jumped, "You _made_ him something?!"

"Well, we have to gift him something, right?" Houki asked.

"Uh, not really..." Cecilia muttered.

"What," Chifuyu snarkily butt in, "you don't appreciate the tradition of gift giving?"

"No, it's not that," Cecilia stuttered, "It's just-"

"Then, what's the problem?!" Chifuyu wrung her arm around Cecilia's shoulders, "Lighten up! Live a little!"

"I mean...ok?..." Cecilia chuckled nervously.

"Ok, I guess it's my turn," Houki said, "Now, let's see..." She looked around the table to discern who was most likely to have gotten her a gift and why. But she couldn't come up with a good reason, save for three people, "Ichika."

"Yeah?"

"Did you get my gift?"

"Uh...no, sorry."

"Really?" Houki asked again, putting a tiny bit more attitude into her voice, "Are you _sure_ you didn't buy me something?"

"No, sorry," Ichika shrugged, "I wasn't the person."

Rin picked up on what Houki was doing and played along, "Oh, so any old friend works as long as it's not a childhood friend, eh?"

"The heck are you on about?" Ichika said, "Now that you mention it, I'm not sure you would like my gifts if I was your person."

"Blech..." Rin sat back and grinned at Laura, "See what I mean? Total disrespect, am I right?"

"Leave me out of this," Laura groaned.

"For shame, bro," Charlotte joked, "For shame."

"Don't patronize me," Ichika threw a paper wad at her.

"Ok, so it's not Ichika," Houki giggled, "Well...what about Charlotte?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you seem like the type to buy nice for someone regardless of their personality."

"I wish, but no," Charlotte shook her head, "My person is more...how you say, selective."

"Oh...well then, who-"

Maya shot her hand out, "It was me!"

"Miss Yamada?!"

"Yes, me," Maya scratched her head, "At the behest of Miss Orimura, I asked Lincoln for us to-"

Chifuyu flinched, "No you didn't!" and swiped her mouth shut, "Pay no mind to that last bit-"

"I knew it!" Houki laughed, "I knew her Brunhilde status wouldn't matter!"

Lincoln joined in, "We all know you're Ichika's sister. There's no use hiding it."

Ichika gave her the "why" eyes, "You wanted this, didn't you?..."

Chifuyu just turned away, not even bothering to hide her pinked cheeks.

"Miss Orimura, is there really a need to hide yourself?" Maya asked.

"Oh, just get on with it," Chifuyu growled.

"Ok, fine," Maya laughed, "if you insist...Now, who would be most likely to get my gift..." she looked around the table, and it only took her two seconds to get her answer, "Ichika."

"Uh..." caught, "Yeah, I got your gift."

"WHAT?!" The entire table screamed, "THAT QUICK?!"

"How did you know?" Ichika asked.

"Oh, I have a sixth sense specially tuned to stuff like this," Maya giggled, "Now, where's my bag?"

"Here," Ichika handed Maya the gift, "I ranked at the bottom of the pack, so I had to make yours, too. And to be honest, I didn't know exactly what you liked."

"What a shame," Maya said, "Maybe we should have a one-on-one tutoring session later in the school year," unwittingly inflaming Rin, Cecilia, and Houki's brains.

"Sure," Ichika nodded, then turned around to see the growling come nigh, "if only to get away from these hazards..." He emitted his Reiraku Byakuya shield while they "passive-aggressively" fired their weaponry at him, "Well, now I know that these three couldn't have drawn my name. Maybe Charlotte?"

"No, not I," Lincoln worked with Charlotte, massaging the hazards' shoulders one by one, and that seemed to calm them down, "Maybe someone else?"

"Then who might've..." Ichika looked around once more. Maya was looking on in curiosity, and Chifuyu was just looking on. But Laura turned away. "Uh...Laura?"

"Hm?" Laura heard her name and immediately walked over to the source. She then held out her bag, "In accordance with the Secret Santa tradition, I present to you your gift."

"Oh...uh, thanks..." Ichika accepted the gift. Laura immediately walked back to her seat.

"She's quite the stickler, isn't she?" Houki whispered.

"I don't want to know what's gotten into her," Cecilia shook her head.

"Well, Laura," Chifuyu said, "Now, it's your turn to guess who got your gift."

"Yes, Mentor," Laura accepted, but she hadn't the slightest clue who would buy her anything. The only person that came to mind was Lincoln, and even then, the chances were pretty low. So, she went with the next best choice, "Rin. Did you get my gift?"

"Nope," Rin said, "You'd be mighty disappointed in mine if I got yours."

"You mean..."

"Heheheh..." Rin couldn't resist, "I pity the fool who drew my name!"

Lincoln gulped, attracting Rin's attention.

"Then..." Laura was guessing at this point, "...Cecilia..."

"Oh?" Cecilia said, "Why do you say me?"

"Because you're the extravagant type," Laura reasoned, "You would spend far too much on someone, regardless of their objections."

"Well, I did get you something," Cecilia said, "but I didn't go ham on your gift. Just something simple."

"I see," Laura accepted the bag, and opened WHY? "I'll inspect it for any foreign contaminants-"

"You WHAT?!" Houki and Cecilia freaked out before Ichika came to their rescue.

"You don't have to do that!" Ichika clinched the bag closed, "I was there; I saw what she got. It's not poisonous. There's nothing to worry about."

"Are you positive?" Laura looked dead into his eyes and tried to find a shred of hesitation. When her search turned up lieless, she conceded...somewhat, "First place, but she doesn't use all of her budget...very curious indeed." She walked back to her seat.

"Uh, sister?" Rin squinted, "Have you had your sensitivity levels checked lately?"

"What do you mean?"

"Uy..."

"Well...after that lively scenario..." Cecilia exhaled, "Who has the pleasure of providing for me tonight?"

And that got Rin and Maya in a giggling ditzy. Ichika and Lincoln ducked under their shirts.

"Oh..." Charlotte muttered, "...the places that could go..."

"What?" Cecilia cracked, "What did I say?!"

The table cracked even more.

"Ok, what is the meaning of this?!" Cecilia shouted, "What am I missing?!"

Chifuyu sighed, "I got Cecilia."

The table shut up, "MA'AM?!"

"Uh-Huh," Chifuyu held up her bag, "and I went through a lot of trouble for this menace, too. Imported from Belgium."

"Really?!" Cecilia momentarily flushed, but then she reminded herself who she was talking to, "I mean... I appreciate the present, ma'am."

Charlotte spoke while Cecilia was accepting her gift, "Uh, Miss Orimura?"

"What's up, Charlotte?" Chifuyu responded.

"Um... I got you your gift."

Lincoln, Ichika, and Chifuyu snapped, "THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS!"

"I couldn't help it, ok?!"

Maya slipped out of her chair, "I'll be over there..."

"You can always help it!" Ichika said, "What's your reason for not helping it?!"

"Well...she's..."

"It's alright. I get it," Chifuyu abruptly ended the discussion, "We all have our reasons, but this is a dinner amongst regular people. Surely, you can let go a little."

"Well...alright, I suppose..." Charlotte nodded, "So, who got me a special gift?"

"Dunno," Chifuyu scanned the table, "but if I had to guess..." She pointed to Rin and Laura being taught how to make string figures by Maya. Rin was the first person to catch Charlotte's attention, as she was the one making the most of her new panty-mask.

"Oh, Rin?" Charlotte cooed.

"Hoy, kneel!" Rin spoke in gibberish, "Jones is the way I am in the snow!"

"Did you happen to buy something like that for me?"

"Oh..." Rin pulled out her bag, "Yep! I got it right here."

"Oh...thank you..." Charlotte felt uneasy about her gift.

"Well, now that that's settled," Rin seerved her eyes to across the table, "Lincoln."

"Eep?!" Lincoln flinched, "Uh...yes?..."

Rin thrust her hands forward, "Gimme." Lincoln slid the bag over to her, and she swiped it, "Hmph!"

"What did I do?!"

"Oh, don't act like you don't know."

"Laura," Lincoln sighed, "can you talk sense into this woman?..."

"No," Laura eyed Rin, "but I can beat it into her."

"TRAITOR!" Rin shouted.

"Uh, ok!" Ichika clapped, "Anyway~~~"

And thus, the night proceeded into the dinner, and it turned out exactly as expected. The table was lively with conversation, and Houki tried her best to insert herself into every talk. Laura was more than content with observing the words and reactions that were flung across the table.

But Chifuyu was just there. More than once, Maya, Lincoln, and Ichika tried to bring her in, but after a few words the conversations shifted away from her. Even Maya got more talk time than her. It felt a bit lonely.

When everything was finished, the group traveled back to the Academy to reflect on this momentous occasion.

"I felt great!" Rin stretched her arms, "That was a worthwhile Christmas, wouldn't you say?"

"I still remember getting frozen in a pile of ice," Lincoln sneered at Laura.

"I remember being used as a flag," and so did Charlotte.

Laura took off her hoodie and earmuffs, "Hm?" Much to Lincoln and Charlotte's toppling.

"I had a good time," Ichika said, "which doesn't account for much. All those reporters kept tailing us throughout the day."

"Sometimes, you need to just...close your mind for a bit," Houki muttered.

"I think it's good to always keep an open mind," Cecilia got in between them both, "especially when a new adventure's on the horizon."

"Oh, what do you know about adventuring?"

"More than most people," Cecilia winked.

"Eh?! Grr-"

When the group went off to the residence dorms, Chifuyu and Maya went back to their private quarters.

"Well, this is nifty!" Maya said in the shower room, "Ichika handmade me a loofah!" Used it, "Ooooh, it's so smooth and revitalizing!"

"Yeah..." Chifuyu was trailed off by the moonlit snow, "...revitalizing..." She got a tea-maker kit, complete with a World's Best Teacher mug and a Brother Bear spoon.

Rin and Laura were found in the park trying to get one last glimpse of the Christmas Snow.

Laura was quite happy with the new earmuffs she received. She was enjoying herself for once, until Rin butt in with her supposed gift.

"Eugh...you were right, Laura," Rin held up a picture frame, with a picture of the pilots after the battle of the Gospel, "That boy has a serious problem."

"I was about to buy you a hockey set," Jaura said.

"THEY HAD THOSE?!" Rin whined, "Why did you skip over that?!"

"Because Lincoln suggested this alternative."

"How much did it cost?!"

Laura looked back in disgust, "It matched the price of the hockey set."

"We shoulda bought him a motivational poster..." Rin sighed.

Houki and Cecilia were getting their last touchups in their room.

"Did you really have to butt in like that?" Houki asked- "Uaaa!"

"Like what?" Cecilia walked out of the shower, twirling in her new silk robe, "Like a fashion model exhibiting her captivating dominance over the populace?"

Houki deadpanned, "I was about to say an old cougar, but whatever works..." she set aside her new natural makeup kit, but kept her new chopstick in her hair.

"How dare you?! I'll have you know it was necessary to strike an impression!"

"It worked, all right."

Back in 1025, Ichika, Charlotte, and Lincoln were getting out the last of their game cravings before the night ended.

"On your 6!"

"Get the lead out!"

"This isn't what I meant by game cravings!"

"Charlotte, fire!"

"What button is it?!"

"I'm gonna do it!"

"Do what?!"

"Sniper missed!"

"What is happening?!"

"I'M CALLING IN AN AC 130 TO FUCK THIS SHIT UP!"

"Wahahahaaaa?!"

"Oh, that's cheap!"

"Hahahaaa! It's my win!"

"Oh, my head..." Charlotte became dizzy and fell off the bed, "Spinning things..."

"Charl?" Ichika rubbed her forehead, "You know, you didn't have to do this."

"I honestly thought you had a different game in mind..." Charlotte wrapped her new ugly scarf around her head, "I've never heard of a twin-stick...whatever that was!"

"Heheh," Lincoln laughed, "I guess we got out game out, then."

"I haven't!" Charlotte protested, "I still haven't gotten my fair dues for that DDR disaster!"

"Ok! We can all go together," Ichika said, "Just the three of us."

"Fine," Charlotte nodded, "but I will have my vengeance." She declared as she stomped off to the shower.

"What got into her?..." Ichika sheepishly cuddled his new teddy bear.

"She's just mad that I smoked her in DDR," Lincoln bragged.

"Say," Ichika noticed something, "What happened to your gift?"

"My gift?" Lincoln blinked, "Shoot! I forgot!"

"Don't tell me you left it in the restaraunt."

"Uhhhhhh..." Lincoln tickled his cheek, "I might have..."

"It's not like you to forget stuff like that."

"I just got...swept up in the moment, that's all."

Oh, his gift was in the restaraunt. But he didn't forget. He knew exactly what was inside: a handmade locket in the shape of a heart, which opened up like a pair of angel wings, with the word Loud etched inside it, and a microsized picture of his family stored in the main compartment.

The gift was now in a trash bag, waiting to be released from its agony.


	6. The Tale of the Homefront

Christmas Day has finally come for the Western world. Decorations and lights have dominated the landscape, and carols and cheers were replayed endlessly in the streets. It was a joyous occasion for...most.

For some, it was more than a rare moment of peace. It was reflective. They now had the moment in time to absorb everything that has happened to them this year. And there was a lot that happened.

At first, it was business as usual for the IS World, but that all changed when Lincoln's acceptance to the IS Academy was publicly announced, and it was all downhill from there. The war between Royal Woods and Hazeltucky spread throughout the Midwest, and unfortunately the entire country got involved, some cities more than others. That caused Lincoln's celebrity status to skyrocket. The public went wild with speculation around his daily activities and relationships, as well as his athletic and combative abilities. It got even more insane when he made two surprise visits back to his stomping grounds: one to stop a major threat, and one to explain why there was a threat. This, after the Louds disappeared.

Now, everything and everyone changed. Everyone knew the reason behind the threat, and they linked it to the war and believed it was the reason behind Lincoln's acceptance to the Academy. The hate came for the Louds and anybody associated with them. Or it would have if not for:

_United States Infinite Stratos Articles, Section 5 subsection D: At no point during the candidate's tenure in the IS Academy may the candidate's relatives and immediate family be targeted for an verbal or physical assault, in person or otherwise; violation of this article by any able-bodied person, regardless of demographic, will constitute a Class A misdemeanor in the offender's state._

Translation: don't bring the hate, and don't seal your fate. Unfortunately, not many people knew about this article until Lincoln's reveal, and this brought on so much backlash that the public chose to protest, and in many cases it brought on riots. So, the National Guard was called in to quell them, and the CIA and FBI was called to track down and sanction all death threats and potential terrorist attacks. A massive wave of house arrests swept the nation, and an even bigger wave of social media and tv network shutdowns swept the internet. Nearly everyone made their death threats known, and they were immediately silenced via electrical lockdown, meaning home arrests with no internet, tv, or phone services until they issued a heartfelt apology and pledged themselves to stop all hate.

And it turned out exactly as one would expect.

**GREAT LAKES CITY, OHIO**

Ronnie Anne was one of the lucky ones; she moved away from the hotspot prior to the sudden lockdown, so she was able to deal with the wave of silence slightly more effectively. Though that would be massive praise in comparison to Bobby, who wound up in a massive slump after Lincoln revealed the truth. He was so blinded by her beauty and voice that he never bothered to dig any deeper than that. And look what happened: she was taken away from him at just the right moment. Now, he was once more a free man, with a massive void in his heart waiting to be filled.

The Casagrandes had it worse; usually the apartment complex would be bustling with excitement, but on this festive holiday, dead silence. Hector and Frida were removing the decorations and stowing them in a cardboard box. Carlota, Maria, and Rosa were setting the floor mats for the Christmas breakfast. CJ, Carlos, and Carlitos were trying to pass the time with action figure roleplaying. But Carlino was nowhere to be found.

Ronnie Anne walked into the room, "Feliz Navidad a todos."

"Feliz Navidad, mi nieta," Arturo said, "Would you mind setting up the floor for our meal?"

"Sure," Ronnie Anne nodded. She scanned the room as she arranged the plates and noticed some missing bodies, "Where's Bobby and Carlino?"

"Bobby's stuck in his room sulking," Carlota said, "Carlino's off doing whatever with my stuff again."

"Shouldn't we invite them to join us? It's Christmas Day, after all."

"No, mija," Frida said, "Let them mourn. They need time."

"Oh..." Ronnie Anne silently agreed to not speak of it until after January.

The breakfast was silent as well. The family gave their thanks for the meal, and that was it. No words. Ronnie Anne looked around the room and thought back to when her family was moments away from being slaughtered. Then, it hit her; the only reason they lived was because one of those thugs decided to betray them. What did she have to say about that?

"What's on your mind, Ronalda?" Rosa asked

"A lot..." she answered, "But most of all, I thought we'd be out celebrating."

"We should be," Carlota said, "but... you know about _the_ wave, right?"

Carlos raised an eyebrow, "Aren't they overreacting? It's a bit much to shut down an entire block, isn't it?"

"I rather you not mention anything about it," Maria said, "The apartment complex next to us received a shutdown."

"You're joking..."

Maria shook her head. And that was all she needed.

Downstairs in the bodega, Bobby was sweeping the store floors hoping that no one would come inside. He had hoped that the cleaning would make him forget about the troubles he had to face recently, but they it only reminded him of who stomped inside just to tell him off for knowing Lori.

"Man," he muttered, "why'd he have to go and upend us like that?..." referring to Lincoln's testimony.

Too bad for him, a couple random customers set foot inside. Bobby quickly snapped to attention, "Welcome! What can I help you folks with?"

One of them went to the magazine corner. The other just brushed him aside and garnered two gallons of milk. When he went back to the register, he already had his cash ready.

"Ok," Bobby didn't notice, "That'll be three seven...ty..." until the customer shoved the cash in front of him.

"Don't you dare," the customer gave Bobby a nasty look, and then left.

"Um...come again soon?..." Bobby muttered. He heard the door slam hard and just moved on with his cleaning. He moved past three aisles before he saw a familiar, and unwelcome, burgundy jacket. He lost all sluggish feeling and immediately confronted him, "Can I help you with something."

"Actually, yeah..." Hank said, "...What's the best snack you got here?"

"What the-why would I even do that?" Bobby growled.

"Maybe because this is the last time you'll see me?"

"Come again?"

"Yep," Hank grabbed a churro, "The cops let me go after I ratted out Hawk. And then I find out that my little connection with Phantom Task shunted my mom's green card...So, there's that."

"Wha... I didn't know..." Bobby gasped.

"Yeah, because it's a giant sob story. Who has time for that?" Hank threw the churro, a soda, and a couple more snacks on the register, along with whatever cash he had left, "Now, can you make it quick? I gotta see my sister in jail."

"Your sister..." Bobby ran through normal procedure before he played back the attack in the living room. He recalled seeing two young girls, one with a similar hairstyle to Hank's, "That girl from that night! She's your sister?!"

"Yep..." Hank said, "Well...not sure anymore..."

"What's gonna happen to her?! And your mom?! What's gonna happen to both of them?!"

Hank didn't look at him. He just took his bag and left, but not before saying loud enough for Bobby to hear, "...Back to Mexico they go."

Bobby stood there slack-jawed. He had no idea why Hank would do this to himself. Or why anyone would put him up to this if those were the stakes involved.

Meanwhile, Carlino was taking a stroll outside all by himself, wondering how everything went so wrong, "Ay-ay-ay, ¿Qué pasa con todos? I make one lousy comment, and everyone suddenly wants my pants shoved in the trash can! I wanna have a chat with the dude that made the IS crud." He stumbled across the city park, in its dazzling, barren glory. All its decorations and snow couldn't hide how little its inhabitants cared for conversation or spirits, "Huh...why are they even out here?..." He just stood there observing the scenery surrounding the Christmas tree, and he was getting dirty looks and mouths of word:

"There. You see him?"

"It's him. I heard he's head over heels for that Loud woman."

"Eww, gross! Doesn't he know she's a full decade older than her?!"

"And why?! Does he know what she-"

"Shh! We're not supposed to talk about that, remember?"

This, he could not stay silent, "Yeah, I still love her! So, what?! Y'all wanna have a go at me?!" He climbed up to the top of a grand foundation and screamed, "Come on, then! Tiny 8 year old little kid ripe for the picking! Come at me, bro!"

The public gave him a quick glance, then went back to their daily routine, as if Carlino was just a passing breeze.

"Yeah, thought so," Carlino climbed down, happy to get it out of his chest, but shaken up at the sight of a police officer who was waiting for him.

Fifteen minutes later, he was at the police station waiting for his family to come trampling through the security doors and lasso him home. He was twiddling his thumbs when an officer approached him. "I didn't do nothing," he muttered defiantly.

"You weren't supposed to climb on that thing," the officer said, "Everyone knew that."

"Pffttt...liar..." Carlino looked away, and that's when he saw him. He saw Hank walking through the hallway, toward a phone booth behind the lobby.

The officer took notice, "Do you know him?"

"Yeah!" Carlino said, "He's the guy that tried to save us!"

"Really?" The officer wondered as he saw Hank sitting down. In front of a glass wall. In front of Janice.

"Hello, little sister," Hank greeted.

Janice said nothing. She just hung her head over.

"I get it," Hank said, "I know you hate my guts... but you know what? If I went through with it, I would hate myself so much that I would kill myself and leave you alone with our wreck of a mother. Does that sound like paradise to you?"

"It's much better than what you did," Janice grunted.

Hank nodded, "I ain't gonna apologize for what I did."

"I don't need your apology," Janice growled, "I just need you to die."

Hank shook his head, "Well, I'm already dead, so that was pretty redundant," and hung up and left.

Janice reacted harshly, "¡Ahogate en mierda, maldito chocho!"

Hank walked out and turned in the opposite direction of the approaching Casagrande entourage. He had to take some time to himself, not only to reflect on everything that he had done, but also to figure out his next move, "Cripes...I gotta find some way to relax... and I'm pretty sure those Phantom Task goons'll be on my ass soon..." Then, he realized that Lincoln was one boy. He had to have help from the outside. He knew of one other person that had the guts to stand up to him. Problem was, he was a few hours away, within Phantom Task's reach.

**ROYAL WOODS, MICHIGAN**

But he was also under AAdsz's protection.

"Alright, Kenneth," Clyde said, "Your new house until you come of age."

"I dunno how I feel about this..." Kenneth said, "This used to be... _her_ place..."

"I know... I know it's been a rough year for all of us," Clyde said, "But it's for the best."

"Well...If you say so...still, how the heck did they build this thing in a month?"

"Ehh, resources I can't possibly imagine they have..."

Thanks to the sheer pressure built from the media, Kenneth was freed from juvenile on Christmas Day, and Clyde was assigned to provide a shelter for him. And Clyde chose the only place he knew he could keep an eye on Kenneth: the house that used to be Loud and rickety, now silent and sturdy, in more ways than one. The house itself was rigged with advanced technology designed to allow any teenager to live by themselves until they reach 18.

Plenty of time for Kenneth to think about his future, "Ok...I think I'll be fine."

"Alrighty, then," Clyde waved, "I'll check up on you every now and then."

"Whatever..." Kenneth shook his head and explored the house.

It was drastically different from his previous residences, but it still had that homey feeling throughout the spaces. The Christmas Tree had already been assembled and decorated. It even had a "Welcome Home" present waiting to be opened. Kenneth opened it up and found a standard gift basket...

"Oh god no..." ...with a photo of him, Margo, and his mother, "Why this?..."

He tossed the basket away and searched the house for anything else he could find. He found several well-made beds, neat closets, and a tidy basement, but that was it. There was nothing else besides that photo.

Kenneth gripped the photo, "Goddamn it...the hell is with this life..."

Clyde walked back to his house and welcomed himself inside, "Man, what is with this life..." Even though he was just 12 years old, he always wanted the house to himself for a day or two just to see if he could handle the adult life. He didn't expect to take back that wish so soon after the Louds' exile.

"Surprise!"

"Yow!" Clyde was pulled out of thought by his dads, "Whew...don't do that..."

"I couldn't help it!" Harold hugged Clyde, "It's the most joyous time of year, after all!"

"Thanks, dad," Clyde hugged back.

"Would you like to open your present?" Howard asked, "I hear it's a very special one!"

"Sure!" Clyde happily obliged and headed to the giant Christmas tree. He scrounged around for something with his name on it, and sure enough, he found what felt like a book, "Huh. Now, I'm really curious. What could it be?"

"Maybe something to record your memories?" Howard said.

"Not really," Harold countered.

"Oh... well, I suppose I'll help myself," Clyde said as he carefully removed the tape and unfolded the wrapping paper, "Well, it's a...a..." and what he saw made him gaw, "Oh crud..."

It was a 1000-page sketchbook, complete with an artist kit. On any other day, anyone else could have seen this merely as a creative outlet for their imagination, but to Clyde, it was a lot more than that. He felt like he was staring at a memento of his past adventures. So many blank pages to reminisce on the time of two peas in a pod. And so much time to plan ahead for the time of one two peas fallen to the ground and were now growing separately.

"Wow..." was all he could say, "I don't know what to say..."

"Think nothing of it," Harold said, "We know it's been a trying time for you, given how Lincoln and his family...moved away...so suddenly..." on the verge of tears.

But Howard was there to calm him down, "Take it easy, Harold. Maybe you need some more rest."

"I'll be fine," Clyde said, "I think I got everything I wanted right here," as he walked back to his dads and hugged them.

"Aw, son," Howard hugged back, "We'll always be here for you."

"If there's anything you need, just ask," Harold said.

"Oh, I could never..." That got Clyde thinking about the semester again, but this time from someone else's perspective. He had everything he could ever want, but he knew at least two people who didn't, "Well..."

One of them was given a house. The other already had a house to himself.

And nothing else. Chandler spent his Christmas Day like he spent any other day: freeloading by himself. He got tired of rummaging through the town for the 20th time, so he retreated to the mall with his friends from school.

"Huh?" Or at least, that's what he thought he'd do. When he got to the game store, his friends were nowhere to be found, "Richie? Trent? Guys?" He searched the store for any sign of them, "Where'd they get off to now?" He walked out of the game store only to find them at the comic store, with some very choice items in hand. "Why am I not surprised?..." He grunted and stomped his way to them, "Hey! Guys!"

"Chandler?" Trent was the first to acknowledge him, "Hey, didn't expect you here!"

"Don't give me that!" Chandler snapped, "What the heck is in your hands?!"

"What? It's just the New Era Ace Savvy comic and action figure. What's the problem?"

"What's my problem? You ditched me for this thing?!"

"What?! These are the coolest things ever!"

Chandler sighed, "I thought you said you wanted to hang out!"

"Sorry, dude!" Trent went back inside the comic store.

"Wha...hey! What the hell?!" Chandler couldn't believe it. He was dumped for a pile of plastic and paper. It was clear that Trent was too far deep in the New Era craze to reason with, so he threw his arms in the air and walked out, "Fine! If that's how you feel about a plastic doll! Make all the love you want!"

Trent didn't hear that, but some of the bystanders did. They knew there would be retribution if they started a fight, so they just started whipping up rumors. And they circulated like a virus.

But he's immune to it. So many years of doing whatever he wanted earned him a massive disdain for him, but it was nothing he hadn't endured before. Even the three grown men who tailed him to the bathroom were an old sight.

Chandler already knew what was coming, so he stepped inside the biggest stall in the bathroom, but left the door unlocked. The three men made themselves welcome and closed off the only escape route.

Chandler took notice, "What's your problem?"

"You are!" One of them locked the door.

"And?" Chandler said sarcastically.

"You and your stupidity don't deserve to walk the ground Ace Savvy tread!" Another man said.

Chandler pulled his first trump card, "Like I care about that crybaby pipsqueak." Infuriation to the point of blinding his enemies' reasoning.

"Boys," the de facto leader signaled, "Get him."

Chandler sighed. As soon as he felt a hand yank his shoulder, he pulled out his second trump card: the side effects of his freeloading.

One of the men pulled Chandler into a punch, but Chandler deflected that fist into the hard wall and sent his elbow into the other man. The leader jumped above them and tried to grab Chandler's neck, but Chandler landed and uppercut on his jaw and flipped over all of them. Chandler then stomped down and sent them crashing into the toilet, where one of there hands accidentally triggered the flush.

"Have fun with the waterworks!" Chandler stuffed a comic down their heads and ran out.

He quickly boarded the next bus and relaxed for the trip around town, "Whew...now, that was fun." He looked down and stared at his prizes: the limited edition New Era High Card, Night Club, and Strong Suit figurines, "I can use them for surveillance." He watched the town fly around him. It was a surreal experience for him seeing all the buildings and streets lit with activity. The normally quiet city had resorted to bustling streets, with doors wide open for all to grab a bite to eat and to shoot a breeze with. He wondered what Lincoln was doing with his new friends abroad now that he had chosen to forsake his own family.

Something Chandler had exposure to in his early years.

He had plenty of time to confront his father about it, though. As he went back to the sewer/facility, he found himself alone in his room. He knew his father would be out until late at night, so he spent his time converting the figurines into audio and visual bugs. Then came nighttime, and he was preparing himself a small meal in the employee lounge when his father came back. Chandler took his mind off the food and looked to see what his father was doing-

"So, the preparations are completed to begin research on the fourth generation units? Good. Get started on the report first thing tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" Chandler gasped, "You can't be serious..." Tomorrow was supposed to be the day he took his father out to Dairy Land. And it looked like that day would be scrapped as well, along with the other countless days that were supposed to be reserved for him and his, "Ok. That tears it."

An hour later, Chandler was eating all by himself when his father came in, "Oh good, you made dinner."

"Yeah..." Chandler muttered, "S'posed to be two simultaneous dinners..."

The father didn't hear that and grabbed his plate. But when he was about to turn back to his office, Chandler stopped him, "Dad."

"What is it?" The father sighed.

Chandler took a small breath and prepared himself. Then, he started the argument, "Did we have plans tomorrow?"

The father thought he meant the sudden research plans, "Well, I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon with the lead of-"

"That's not what I meant!" Chandler snapped.

The father blinked.

Chandler turned to him, "I meant the play day at Dairy Land Amusement Park."

"Oh...oh!" The father said, "I'm sorry. It slipped my mind...Look, I promise I'll make it up to-"

"That's the problem," Chandler stopped him, "Everyday you make your schedule, there's no time set aside for any relaxation, family, or just breathing. It's always work, work, work, work, work... and nothing else."

"You should know by now that we are the IS capitol of the USA. Maintaining that status requires as much time and resources as we can possibly give."

Then, Chandler just came out and said it, "Do I count as a resource?"

"That, and everything here in this factory," the father said...without a second thought.

Chandler took grave offense to that, "And there's your problem." He blocked the door, "Did you forget that you had me with your first woman? That means you are a father. She was a mother. And I am your son."

"I don't have time for this," the father clicked a remote and opened up an alternative entrance to his office. He then proceeded to make his way through, but he stopped at the door when Chandler said-

"Like you had time for mom, but you didn't have time for me?"

The father's ears twitched. That was the one thing that set him off, since he devoted so much to her only for her to break his heart. "How dare you?..." He hissed.

Chandler took note of the reaction his father gave off. "How dare I what?" He said an instant before his hands suddenly caught the tablet that was thrown at him.

"How dare you badmouth your own mother?!" The father screamed.

"Why not?! She badmouthed you!"

"That gives you no right to say whatever the hell you want about her!"

"You ever wonder why I said that?! Because she sucked up all your time! Forget work buddies! You don't even bother with your own son anymore!"

"Don't you dare..."

"Oh, I dare!" Chandler prepared himself to be brutally handed, "Sometimes, I wish you stayed a sewage plant worker!"

And handed he was. He was slapped by his father across the cheek. He was flung out of his was and left recoiling, "Agh...hhh...I knew it...you still...can't get over her..."

"Have you forgotten who allowed you to walk the earth in the first place?" The father growled.

"Have you forgotten...who raised me from that point?..." Chandler grunted.

"I should've grounded you and never let you freeloaded in the first place!"

"Yeah...you should've..." Chandler stood up, "but you didn't...because you showered mom instead..."

That really got his father. He didn't know what to say to that, since he knew that he was partly to blame for letting her get the better of him. But he couldn't worry about it now because he had other things to worry about.

"I was right to cancel everything...you're out of line," he said, "You will stay here and think about what you said." He turned around and walked out.

"Oh, for the love of..." Chandler walked out as well. He didn't bother finishing his project and left the plant before his father could lock it down.

Chandler took himself for angry stroll towards the suburban area, "Good god, man! Would it kill him to say "no" once in a while?! It's the same thing every single day, and for what?! Some family we turned out to be..." He rounded the corner into Franklin Avenue when he got a surprise text from Clyde:

4-Eyed-Clyde: Wanna eat at my place?

"What in the..." Chandler sighed. He had nothing better to do, so he just followed the street lights to Clyde's house.

There were only a couple of active street lights on Franklin Avenue, run by whatever solar power they collected earlier. The rest of them suffered the same fate as a large majority of the houses on that street: disconnected from any and all sources of electricity. The residents have been trash-talking Hazeltucky since Lincoln's sudden visit, and they finally paid for it with their dazzlement. Not that it bothered Chandler in the slightest, as he was still able to find Clyde's house. And a familiar gruff teen standing at the door.

"Yo," Chandler said.

"Uh-" Kenneth turned around, "Oh...hey..."

Chandler approached him, "You got invited too?"

"Yeah..." Kenneth looked at the door, "I didn't have nothing better to do..."

"Me neither..." Chandler said as he rang the doorbell. He was immediately greeted by Clyde.

"I see you two received my message," Clyde said with a snarky grin.

"Yeah?..." Chandler and Kenneth muttered.

"Come on in!" Clyde welcomed them in, "Make yourselves at home."

The two took went inside, and right away, Chandler and Kenneth were amazed by the interior of the house. Not that there were any fancy possessions, but that was it. There were no super expensive items, just everyday possessions and decorations in an open living room with a view for the rest of the house. That gave it a homey feeling that Chandler and Kenneth were missing in their lives.

But that comfy feeling was ruined by what they saw on the dining room table: a Christmas feast built for thirteen...occupied by just five.

Chandler was about to react, "What the f-" until he heard someone whistling in the kitchen, "-fffflippee..."

"...yeah. Not pretty," Clyde commented, "I told them that it was just the two of you, buuuuuuut..."

"Not now," Kenneth said. He then took a seat at the table and waited for one of Clyde's dads to step out of the kitchen, "Hey, are we gonna be long-" He didn't have to wait long-

"Please, not yet!" Harold dropped his newly baked soufflé and slammed Kenneth's hands on his lap, "We need everyone present to start the feast!"

"We're gonna need a bit!" Howard said, "Gotta clean up this mess!"

Chandler peered at Clyde, "Are they always this eccentric?..."

"They have their moments..." Clyde whispered back, "I'll get the mop."

"I better start the dishwasher..." Chandler responded.

A good ten minutes of cleaning up and calming down later, all five people were sat at the table.

"Ok, now that we're over the hurdles," Howard said, "Does anyone have any thanks to share before we dig in?"

"I do!" Clyde's hand shot up.

"Ok," Howard nodded, "What are you thankful for son?"

"Ahem," Clyde clears his throat and said, "I am thankful for making two new friends."

That shook Chandler and Kenneth. More so Kenneth because of what he went through and what Clyde did for him.

But for Chandler, it rubbed off on him the right and wrong way, "Uh...you realize what happened this entire semester?"

"I know what I said," Clyde said smugly, "and I also know what you actually do underneath your alleged 'freeloading'."

Chandler smacked himself, "Dangit..." His true intentions were unraveled by a total nerd...who could file taxes like they were child's play-In reality, he shouldn't be surprised.

Harold looked at Kenneth just staring at the food. "You haven't had a home cooked meal in a while, have you?"

"Uh...well..." Kenneth stuttered, "No...not since my dad died...We always had frozen foods..."

"I'm sorry to hear that..." Harold said, "If you want, you could try finding a new family in us."

"What do you mean?" Kenneth said, doubtful.

"You share something with Clyde and Chandler," Harold pointed at the two boys munching away at the food, "They lost their parents when they were young."

"Really?" Kenneth blinked.

"Well, that's not the right word...how should I say, they were abandoned by them?"

Kenneth wondered how that was even possible. They seemed to have it made, and yet something still happened to them. He didn't want to about it as he a more pressing problem to tend to. He grabbed a plateful of smoked turkey and mashed potatoes, and then took a small bite into his mouth... and stopped.

"How is it?" Howard asked.

"...it's good..." Kenneth muttered.

"Well, help yourself to as much as you can," Howard grabbed a plate of his own, "Whatever you can't finish is going straight to the soup kitchen."

Kenneth nodded. But he hid his emotions behind his expressionless face. That one bite moved him close to tears it was so good. He thoroughly savored every mouthful taken from then onwards.

Chandler took note of that reaction and nudged Clyde, "Looks like you finally did something right."

"Unlike you?" Clyde grinned.

"Get real, dork!"

"I am real, loser!"

And with that, Chandler and Kenneth spent the night at Clyde's.

**GREAT LAKES CITY, OHIO**

That same time, it was raining in Ohio. Hank was alone at waiting for the bus totake him back to Hazeltuckywhen he spotted a familiar face at the adjacent stop. "Who in the..." He moved his hair a bit and saw Carlota, "Hey! Whaddaya doin' out here?!"

"I could ask you the same thing!" Carlota shouted back.

Hank didn't feel like stepping out of his way to risk a heart-to-heart, so he initiated a "shout fest" of sorts, "I'm going back to my place! What about you?!"

"I'm here to make a deal with you!"

"A peel?!"

"No! A deal! An offer!"

Hank could discern what he heard, and what it meant, "Ohohoho, no! You're not gonna lump me in with the likes of you! It ain't gonna happen!"

"Your bum's gotta fathom?!"

Hank frustratingly sighed, "And now I feel like it..." He crossed the street and got into Carlota's face, "It ain't happening. I'm not gonna play guard dog to a family begging to be ambushed by a bunch of IS crackheads."

"Even if we offered you your own place?" Carlota asked.

"Are you trying to kill yourselves?" Hank growled.

Just then, the bus to Detroit pulled up to the stop.

"Finally," Hank muttered, but as he turned to leave-

"Don't!" Carlota yanked his hand back, "We need you!"

"The hell?" Hank was very suspicious of her.

"We need you," Carlota muttered, not wanting to look at Hank, "You alerted the police to us. We would've been mincemeat without you. We don't know when they'll be back. You have to help us."

"Fucking wuh?..." No one's ever legitimately asked Hank for help before. All he's ever done was latch onto Hawk, and now here's someone that reached out to him. He didn't know what to think. He saw the bus waiting for anyone to board and thought something strange.

If he decided to stay, he'd have to keep watch of not just the Casagrandes, but everyone in that apartment complex. He'd have to ward off threat after threat until he couldn't take it anymore. And then, they would feel helpless until someone looked at them funny and one of the people ended up remembering what Hank did and started defending themselves the same way he defended them. It was going to be a cycle of defense among defense. But at the very least, he could teach them how to fend for themselves. And they could show him a new place. In some strange way, he was going to get a gang all to himself. Hank knew it wouldn't come without a major cost, but not only was it very appealing to be fighting for something, it was the only way to keep the fight away from Hazeltucky.

Hank watched in silence as the bus doors closed, and the giant vehicle drove off, leaving him alone with a teenage girl who most likely had to fight through tons of disapproving elders to reach out to him, by her lonesome. He stood upright, not once facing Carlota. He had to know if her request was genuine, "Who put you up to this?"

"No one," Carlota answered, "I realized it when Bobby told me that you'd lose your family."

"Didn't Ronnie Anne try to stop you?"

"No. Abuelo and Abuela did, but Ronalda made them see reason."

"And you said you'd give me my own place. How in the hell is that possible?"

"There's a room in between our rooms. As long as you don't put any furniture in it, you can get it for free."

Now, that unnerved him. Hank was being offered a shelter for nothing. They were that desperate for protection, but he figured that they had seen it all thanks to Hawk and company. He took in a deep breath and muttered, "...Alright..."

"You'll do it?" Carlota said.

"On one condition," Hank flatly said, "I get to toughen you all up."

"Huh?" Carlota winced.

"You're lover sister whoever can hold her own, but her brother's a total noodle," Hank said, "The boys are helpless, the moms and dads are wimps, and the elders are going to lose their strength soon. I can't guard all of them on my own."

"I know..." Carlota nodded, "I just need your help in protecting them."

"Fair enough," Hank turned to face her, "I'll start with you."

"Eh? Why me?"

"Look at your legs," Hank got a jerk reaction from Carlota when she saw her thighs, "They should be mostly muscle and some fat, not the other way around. You and Ronnie Anne will set the example of how to be a good guardian. And you're going to start now."

Carlota looked around her for any signs of additional life, but it was just the two of them in the nighttime rain. She felt just as helpless as when she was pinned to the ground by one of the gang members during the attack. She was felt up the thighs; she would have been raped had Hank not pushed him away from her. She owed him at least this much.

Carlota sighed, "Ok...what do you want me to do?.."

Hank looked at her and noticed that she was heavily cloaked in her winter clothing, but light on winter footwear and stain protection, "You didn't think to bring an umbrella?"

"Well..." Carlota stuttered, "I was just acting on impulse..."

"Bad move..." Hank stepped out of the bus stop and into the rain, "...You're gonna lead me to where I'll be staying, and you're gonna run the entire way through."

"What?!" Carlota shrieked, "Run?! Like...just straight up run?!"

"Exactly," Hank said, "No twists and turns, no elevators. Just take me to where my room will be, through the rain, on your own two feet."

Hank was testing her to see if she could go the distance, right from the moment the challenge was forced on her up to the moment where the challenge would finish. Carlota was unsure whether or not that it was worth one more person. But then again, there was no one else she could turn to that had the kind of strength and grit that Hank had.

"...alright..." Carlota muttered, "...Off I go..." she shook her head to settle herself down for just this one night. Then, without adequate time to warm her body up for a jog, she took off into the night, into the black drenched void, "Gah! Ugh!...Cold...how...do they do it?!..."

"Running generates body heat!" Hank panted right beside her, "You gotta force your legs to move!"

"Oh, what the heck-" Carlota mumbled before one of her toes hit a rock, causing her to nearly stumble. But her body fought through the sudden imbalance and staggered her steps to regain her posture and continue running. And Carlota didn't know how she recovered, "Wha...how in the-"

"Hey!" Hank yelled from behind, "Keep moving! I don't have all night!"

"I'm moving! I'm moving!" Carlota screamed.

And this ended their conversation this night. Hank was taking the first step towards a new gang. He would still keep a watchful eye over the Casagrandes, but he decided that he would train them until they didn't need him any longer.

Carlota on the other hand was more than determined to dig into his mind and find out why he would save them from those thugs. She figured that the only way to do that was to put up with whatever he could throw at her, and she was going to surprise him no matter what.

**HOKKAIDO VANTAGE POINT, JAPAN**

Back at the new house, however, it wasn't a wave of determination. It was dead silence. No one talking whatsoever. Ever since Lori and Leni left a couple days ago. Nothing could describe how they felt, because there was nothing to feel. There was nothing they wanted to feel, because if they did, they would feel guilt.

Guilt for having lied to Lincoln and driven him away. Guilt for isolating Lori and attempting to prevent her from atoning for her wrongs. Guilt for having gotten themselves involved in something far out of their control. Guilt for having failed to control their actions and just doing whatever they felt like doing, ultimately having a hand in their hiding.

So, they chose to feel nothing. And it didn't go unnoticed. Christmas Morning, there were no decorations, no tree, no presents whatsoever. Just the lifeless walking bodies of whatever soul remains in the Loud family. Rita especially, because the family secret was revealed to Lynn before she was deemed ready. Now, they were all at a loss on what to do. They simply went about their day, existing. Just being there...

And Lily and Lynn were getting tired of it. Lunchtime was the start of their temper tantrum. Luan was trying to feed Lily the same rice porridge she ate every lunch. Lily took the first bite just fine, but when the second bite came, "Rin."

"Huh?" Luan said in monotone.

"Rin," Lily repeated.

Luan figured out what Lily meant, "Lynn's paralyzed. She can't feed you-"

"Rin!" Lily repeatedly banged the table, "Rin! Rin! Rin! Rin! Rin!"

"Understood," Luan stood up, "I will fetch Lynn," and then left.

"Rin!" While Lily babbled on, "Wrriiii-no. Llllllwwwwwrriiiiii~~~"

Luan went to Lynn's room, where Rita was still tending to her.

"I don't understand why we can't have a productive conversation about the past," Lynn said, "Wouldn't we find closure in attempting to resolve it?"

"It's out of the question," Rita said, "We can't risk losing any more family members."

"Why do you suppose that they would leave in the first place?"

"I rather not get into that topic..." Rita was about to wheel Lynn down when she was stopped by Luan.

"Lily wants to dine with Lynn," Luan said.

Rita ignored her and took Lynn downstairs to the living room. She set Lynn on the couch and cleaned off her lap, "Let mommy get you some food. Don't go anywhere."

"I'll be here..." Lynn said.

While Rita was preparing her food, Lily creeped out of her seat and waddled to Lynn. "Rin!" She cheered as she crawled onto her lap.

"Hello, Lily!" Lynn greeted, "How have you been?"

"Quiet-ahh-*PBBTTT*" Lily sputtered.

"I felt it too," Lynn nodded, "It's as it the entire household has lost its soul."

Lily made some babbling noises.

"Really?" Lynn raised an eyebrow, "Lori and Lincoln?"

"Uh-Huh!"

"What would they have to do with the silence of the house?" Lynn asked.

"Dunno," Lily babbled on before spotting Luna and Lynn Sr cleaning up the porch, "They know?" She pointed.

Before Lynn could say anything, Rita shoved Lily off the couch and brushed her lap again. "Lynn, what did I say about not going anywhere?" She demanded.

"I didn't," Lynn said.

"Hush, baby," Rita quieted her down, "Lunch is ready. Now, open your mouth..."

Lily stood up, "Aaaa, COCKAPOOPOO!" She waved her fists and went to find Lucy. She teetered down the stairs to the basement. She found the coffin where Lucy was hiding for the last few days in a small corner next to the table.

"Wucy?" Lily called.

The coffin didn't move.

"Wucy!" Lily called again.

The coffin still didn't move.

Then Lily remembered that one word she heard from the parents one night, "*inhale...* **_?# *%!_** "

The coffin moved slightly, and out peered black hair and a small nose. The hair tilted slightly towards Lily, right before tilting back and shutting the coffin.

Lily went on an angry babble before being discovered by Luna. "Yuyu!" Lily tried to cry for help, but she ended up getting grabbed and hauled up the stairs, "Dannit..."

That night, Lily stayed awake after everyone else slept. She still had the dead silence of the last month or so burned into her memories. She missed the days when there was nothing but noise, "Wawa..."

"Go to sleep, Lily..." Lynn Sr groaned.

Lily grunted and rolled out of bed. She crawled her way to Lynn's room. She knocked on the door, but she got no answer for five minutes. She decided to leave her rattle at the door as a sort of message to Lynn. Then she went back down to her bed and went to sleep.

However, Lynn's ears received the soft knock and registered them into her dreams. She was dreaming that she was a mother with a baby that looked like Lily. She held Lily in her arms and cooed her to sleep, only to end up falling asleep first. The baby then nuzzled her way to Lynn's feet and gently nibbled on them to her heart's content.

And strangely, Lynn's right big toe started, ever so slightly, to twitch.


	7. The Tale of the Crossroads

It has been four days since Lori and Leni set out on their journey to reunite with their now estranged brother, and they survived the trek solely through sheer grit. The instant they left the barrier, they hightailed it as far and as fast as they possibly could, and they didn't stop until they saw the daylight. And even then they took short rests knowing that they could die anytime. They kept running until they saw a lone car in the wilderness, which by then they knew they were nearing civilization. They stuck their thumbs out hoping that someone would pick them up; strangely, no one came.

Well, they did attract two shady looking cars. One of them got the message and left them alone. The other didn't; the people came for Lori and Leni's assets...and they left with bellies full of snow, and their everything hijacked.

The elder sisters stopped at a small gas station to top up and recuperate themselves.

"Our sisters have got to be worried sick about us right now..." Leni thought.

"That's the way it has to be," Lori responded while filling the tank, "The moment things start to relax, they're gonna look for another lightning rod. We have to strip them of as much moral protection as we can so they don't get any ideas."

"Are you sure?" Leni was having second thoughts about Lori's mission, "I understand peeling away from them but...outright abandoning them?"

"You got any better ideas?" Lori snapped.

Leni got frightened, "Uh...Well..."

"I'm sorry..." Lori backed off, "It's just...Why are we even doing this?..."

"I thought we were supposed to find Lincoln?" Leni wondered.

"I don't know anymore..." Lori muttered.

They parked the car nearby and went inside. They bought some snacks and went to the only register and tv, just in time to hear:

["The Infinite Stratos League was out and about again this Christmas season! Last seen at the Sakura Park Restaurant with the Brunhilde herself, they are no doubt gearing up for the New Year Celebration ~~~"]

"Oh my god, make it stop..." Lori groaned.

"Looks like he's making a name for himself!" Leni commented.

"Come on, let's go..." Lori took everything outside.

Leni saw her run out, "What's wrong?"

"I literally felt a vein pop out of my heart."

"What?!" Leni jumped, "Stay there! I'll get help-"

"Leni!" Lori yanked her down, "Not _that_ kind of vein..."

"Oh..." Leni stood herself up again, "Well, then, what kind of help do you need?"

"Nothing you can provide..." Lori muttered.

"Prov-eh?..." Leni raised an eyebrow. Then she met Lori at the driver's seat, "Ok, I know I'm not that smart, but I also know when your heart is in a seriously jumbled mess."

"I am aware," Lori said, "I just have to sort this out before I can get any piece of mind."

"Why is it that grating on you? I don't understand why you have to leave Mom and Dad just to meet with Lincoln!"

"Maybe because I LITERALLY CAUSED US TO BE HERE!" Lori snapped, "YOU THINK OF THAT?!"

"I did think of that!" Leni said, "And I still don't get it!"

"Which is exactly why you're the slow one of the family," Lori poked her forehead, "Actually use your brain for once!"

Leni sighed and jumped in the back seat. She waited until the gas station was out of sight to speak again, "I miss him, too...but is this what he would want?..."

Lori looked at the dashboard momentarily before keeping her eyes on the open road, "No, it's not...but it's what he needs."

Leni wasn't so sure, but she decided to not say anything after that; she could tell that Lori was one wrong word away from unleashing utter mayhem. She waited until they reached Sapporo to say anything, "So, once we get to Lincoln, what then? What are we gonna say to him?"

"I'll plan for it once we get there," Lori said, "For now, we have to take it one step at a time."

"Ok..." Leni didn't say anything about it afterwards. She just stared out into the Japanese cityscape, with all its dazzling lights and serene beauty. She experienced the snow before, but not like this. Sprinkling in the glittering white snow with the colorful light show was overwhelming for her. "It's all so br-"

"Worry about the lights later," Lori ordered, "For now, help me flag down an airport."

"Well..." Leni thought, "I've only seen one that has a flag we can down."

Lori gritted her teeth and gripped the steering wheel extra hard before taking a deep breath and relaxing herself. "...And where would that be?..." she exhaled.

"Over there," Leni pointed directly to her right.

"Uh-WAH!" Causing Lori to swerve to the other land and jam the wheels to the right. She drifted the entire way to the parking lot, parallel parking perfectly without any mishaps. "GUH..." she breathed, "Leni...we need to work on your awareness..."

"Sorry," Leni muttered.

"Whatever..." Lori took her bag and got out, "I'm gonna get us a flight. You stay here and please don't leave until I come back."

"Ok..." Leni nodded while Lori darted inside. She wasn't happy about being confined in the parking lot at dark, but at least she got to witness the hustle and bustle of the night crowd amongst the colorful light lines. At least until she saw a shadowy figure among the sea of silhouettes.

"O...k..." Leni laid back and waited. After a while, she turned back to the crowd. The dark shadow was gone. "Whew..." she sighed, "For a second, I was-" and then she looked the other way "-YIPE!"

The shadow figure was already at the car. But it didn't look hostile. It just looked like an observer. A petite woman who was genuinely curious about the blonde creature in the car.

"Um..." Leni greeted nervously, "Can I help you?..."

"No, you can't," the woman said. And that was it. She just left after that.

That was the second time she was told she couldn't help someone, "Huh...wonder what her deal was..." Leni whispered.

Just then, Lori returned to the car, "Leni! I got us a flight, but we have to leave..." She suddenly saw the look of confusion in her green eyes, "...now...uh, you ok?"

"Not really..." Leni answered, "This creepy lady came to me and just eyed me out."

"Ugh, save your delusions for later!" Lori yanked her out, "Our flight's in one hour!" And dragged her to the airport.

"No, really!" Leni stammered, "She had this like dominatrix outfit, and a really cute locket-"

"Leni, we can talk about it once we get to Shibuya. Now, zip it!"

"Well, if-uh..." Leni heard the S-word.

Lori pushed her way through the concierge and purchased her tickets. "Ok, I got us-" But during the purchase, Leni disappeared, "Leni? What the-Leni!" She went in to the waiting area to find her, and not two minutes in did she spot her in a fashion outlet loading up with whatever she could get her hands on. "Leni!" She shouted, "What are you doing?!"

"Oh-You go on ahead! I'll catch up!" Leni said, earning a grunt from Lori. Then, she turned back to the receptionist and... 「これらの服は夏と冬に適していますか？」

「実際、私はこのセットをお勧めします。」

「ああ！ とてもシックなこの服！」

...stunted Lori brain dead.

Twenty minutes later, Lori was at the assigned terminal still reeling from Leni's sudden second language skill.

When Leni appeared behind her, "Ok, I'm ready!"

"How on earth did you learn Japanese?!" Lori snapped.

"You said we're going to Shibuya! How could I not?" Leni held out her arms, which were completely full of bags of clothes, accessories, and various other fashion knickknacks, "Good thing I did, because I told that we were Lincoln's sisters, and she gave us a 95% discount!"

Lori growled, "Ok, one: you literally just blew our cover. You weren't supposed to tell anyone we're Lincoln's sisters!"

"Huh?" Leni tilted her head, "Why not?"

"Because, that!" Lori pointed to the store Leni just came out of, which was suddenly swarmed with people asking about their presence.

"I dunno," Leni said, "They seemed like fans of his-"

"Maybe they knew the kind of crud we did to him!" Lori snapped.

Thankfully, an announcement came on the PA: "WE WILL NOW BOARD THE DOMESTIC FLIGHT TO NARITA. ALL PASSENGERS PLEASE COME TO TERMINAL D8 AT THIS TIME."

"Oh my god..." Lori sighed, "Come on!" She yanked Leni along and made it through the gate before anyone could recognize them. "Whew..." she muttered, "That was a close one..."

"How did you get through those guys?" Leni asked.

"Someone left me a grab bag of goodies we could use."

"Who?"

"...a friend...a couple of friends..."

Once they made it into the airplane, they began to settle themselves into the flight, which was thankfully a smooth transition thanks to the plane being half empty. Leni was filling up three overhead lockers when Lori yanked her down again.

"And, two," Lori whispered, "NINETY-FIVE PERCENT OFF?!"

"Heeheehee," Leni grinned, "It helps to know people."

During the flight, while Leni was sleeping, Lori was thinking about how Lincoln was hanging out with his new friends. She thought that he must be having the time of his life now that he didn't have anyone to tie him down. Contrasting that current life with his previous life gave her new insight on his choice to leave. Whenever anyone in the family had any fun or free time, it was always conditional. It was always an inherent give-and-take relationship, regardless of how they thought, and it was the wrong way to think. It should have been mutual. This problem was not caused by keeping the secret, but it definitely contributed to the lie.

"Nnn, come on..." Lori groaned, "When did we go wrong..."

She then turned to the Casagrande household for any idea of their current life. She thought they must have been horrified when they found Lincoln on the news. She wondered what they would think if...when they found out the truth about the battle of Detroit. Bobby must not want anything to do with her now. Maybe he's gone and thrown away every single object that even remotely reminded him of her.

That thought kept her awake for the entire flight. By the time they landed she was the most groggy she had ever been, while Leni was the most refreshed she had ever been.

"Ahhhhhhh! That was amaze balls!" Leni stretched his body, "Who knew that those cramped chairs could do wonders for you?"

"Leni, your face was in my face, and your feet was on the window," Lori growled.

"Ohhhhh, so that's why my mouth felt so good..."

Lori slammed her forehead, "Just call a darn taxi already..."

"Ok," Immediately, Leni ran to a yellow cab, 「タクシー! タクシーが必要です！」

...and succeeded in flagging down a taxi to a capsule hotel.

"What in the ever-loving hell..." Lori muttered.

"Well, this is a nice place, wouldn't you say?" Leni cheerfully replied.

"I said I wanted a nice place to take a small break! I didn't mean a small place place to take a nice break!"

"Aren't they the same?"

"No, they aren't!" Upon screaming, Lori started to lose her strength, "Ggg-I'm going down..."

"Whoa whoa whoa what!" Leni dropped her stuff and caught Lori, "Are you ok?!"

"Ngh...just get me inside..." Lori panted.

Leni hauled Lori in one arm, and every single belonging they had in the other, straight to the capsule hotel, to the bewilderment of everyone inside. Without breaking so much as a pant, 「こんにちは。 二人用の部屋を頂けますか？」

One of the bags slipped past her grip, making the receptionist a bit uncomfortable, 「私に何ができるか見ていきます。」

Soon after, Leni settled Lori into her assigned capsule. "This is exactly what I was talking about," she said, "You're tiring yourself out going after Lincoln. We have to rethink this crazy quest."

"The heck are... you talking about..." Lori moaned, "I'm perfectly... alright..."

"No, you're not," Leni insisted, "I'll watch you. You just need to get yourself re-pook-erated."

"It's...recuperated..." Lori panted, "And...I... don't...need...t..." before she passed out.

"Lori?" Leni whispered, "Lori?" She gently scruffed Lori's hair off her forehead and felt it. She didn't know if it felt too warm or if their hands felt too cold, so she readied a damp cloth and set it on her forehead. Then, she turned off the capsule's lights and sealed it off.

"Great," she muttered, "Now, what do I do?" She stuffed everything in her capsule and went to the bathroom to try and get her mindset together.

Some time later, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Hospital, Lincoln was visiting Margo with Laura and a blue-haired girl with glasses.

"There she is," Laura said, "Still unresponsive."

"It's been more than a month," Lincoln turned to the blue-haired girl, "What do you think, Kanzashi? Can we do anything?"

"No," she said, "not us."

Only time. "I see," Lincoln nodded. Then, he placed a small bouquet of alstroemerias and lilies in Margo's hands. Afterwards, the trio left and wandered along the sidewalk, "Well, that was a big letdown."

"Agreed," Laura commented, "To think that after this time, there has been no progress whatsoever."

"The IS programmed itself to sync with the pilot's mind," Kanzashi explained, "My guess is that the Gospel had its neural locks disabled, and that's what allowed whoever's hijacked it to accidentally link Margo's mind with the IS's."

"Huh?..." Lincoln's mind short-circuited.

"You wouldn't understand," Laura smirked.

"Just let me have one holiday to myself! Please!" Lincoln wailed.

Back at the Orimura residence, Ichika was preparing the house for the New Year celebrations when he heard the doorbell.

"Coming!" Ichika slid down the banister and launched himself, sticking the landing right at the door.

Charlotte was leaning back and forth with a bag in hand, trying to plan for the day ahead. Although she just wanted an easy day with Ichika, she was almost certain that the other girls would somehow come barging in and come to a grave misunderstanding, despite the talk he gave during the class trip. She shook it off and rang the doorbell again.

"Hey, Charl!" Ichika called, "What brings you here?"

"Hello, Ichika," Charlotte greeted, "I was wondering if you were available to hang out today."

"Naw, I don't mind," Ichika responded, "Make yourself at home."

Once Charlotte was inside, she settled on the couch and waited as Ichika tended to the rest of the chores. She noticed all of the decorations hanging from the ceiling, as well as some choice plants on the counters, "So, you are celebrating New Year's Day as well?"

"Yep," Ichika said, "My sister's extremely busy, but she always makes time for us on the holiday season."

"Ah, so you are the one taking care of the house?"

"Pretty much," Ichika said while preparing a cup of barley tea, "There was a long time when she was wasn't here."

"I understand," Charlotte said while he handed her the tea, "You know, I think you would make a good househusband."

"I get that a lot," Ichika scratched his head, "I don't understand why they said that though." Just then, the doorbell rang. "Hm? Would could that be?"

"Probably one of the other girls?" Charlotte said.

"Gotta be Houki or Rin," Ichika got up and answered the door, "What the...Cecilia?"

"Hello there!" Cecilia greeted, "How are you doing today, my dear Ichika? I happened to be passing through this area, so I thought I would stop by to check on you."

"Passing through in this area?" Ichika repeated.

Making Cecilia flinch, "Uh, yes! I just stopped by that famous cake shop with all their fancy assortments, see?!"

As soon as she was let inside, Houki and Rin popped out from behind the brick wall.

Rin giggled like a madwoman, "Did you see the look on her face?! And she already tanked her diet-HAAAhahahaha~~~"

"We gave her the address," Houki sighed, "What else was she gonna do?..."

Rin stopped giggling, "You're no fun." She led Houki out and rang for Ichika, "Hey! Olly olly oxen free!"

Once the group has been assembled, Ichika sat everyone down and tried to have a small talk, bearing in mind the girls' uneasy expressions, "I don't mind you stopping by, but it would've been nice if at least one of you let me know you were coming."

"And just how would I have done that?" Houki turned her head away, "I had no idea I was doing anything till now."

"Yeah, what gives?" Rin peered, "Are you saying that showing up without notice is a problem? Could that be because you have something to hide?"

"More like, something to do," Charlotte quickly rushed in, "You do know what tomorrow is, do you?"

"Oh! New Year's Day!" Cecilia clapped, "I've always wanted to see the prefecture at night! All those dazzling colorful stars-"

"Don't try to divert attention!" Rin snapped.

"Actually, they're right, Rin," Ichika pointed to the ceiling and the backyard, "The past couple days, I've spent preparing for the New Year. I've been trying to get rid of whatever old crud I could find."

"We could've helped!" Cecilia said, "You have four very capable friends here to help you anytime!"

"Yeah, what's with that?!" Rin hugged Cecilia while eyeing him, "Why didn't you ask us to come over?!"

Ichika blinked, then he realized that he went to Lincoln for help first, "Oh, yeah... I had Lincoln help with the cleaning."

The girls went "Huh?!"

"You know, you keep going to him for crud like this instead of us," Houki griped, "What's he got that we don't?"

"A lot of things..." Ichika blurted out.

"Well, we're here now," Cecilia said, "Why don't we all help out with the decorations?"

"I see!" Charlotte brightened up, "And then we can all go see the fireworks together!"

"That's not a bad idea," Ichika said, "Alright, the mats have already been dusted. Who's up for a little house cleaning?"

The girls cheered. This was the time they got to Ichika alone, and no one could ruin this glorious day...except themselves.

Rin ended up turning the cleaning into a competition to see who could get through the house first, and she ended up toppling so many end tables and plants that she sprayed the other girls with dirt and water. Which utterly angered Cecilia and Houk, to the point where they had to chase her down and fling dirt all over the walls. Meanwhile Charlotte and Ichika were desperately trying to keep up with the mess Rin made, and they slipped and slid and bumped into each other before they were able to clean everything up.

Rin slid down the hallway and launched herself into the backyard, "Kick flip!" She slammed her broom into the mats and let out a gigantic cloud of dust, "How'd ya like that, Ichika?!"

Ichika was too tired to say anything. He was barely holding himself up by his mop. Charlotte was completely wiped out.

But Cecilia and Houki were on the verge of snapping. They emerged from the house, damp, dirtied, and downright ready to clean house.

"I don't know what you heard, Houki," Cecilia growled, "but that sounded like a big mouth on a wet ass to me."

"Wuh?..." Rin didn't catch that.

Houki handed Cecilia a towel and shampoo, "It must've taught some manners," and then readied a mop and pail, "Allow me to assist."

"With pleasure," Cecilia muttered. Then the two laughed like catatonic serial killers.

"Uh-ok," and Rin caught that, "Let's not get in over our heads...I-it's just a comp, right-eep!" She was backed into the dreaded corner, leaving her at the mercy of-

"WASH AWAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

"AAAAAAA-*BLUBLUBLUBLUB~~~*"

"YOU DON'T MIND SOME CONDITIONER, DO YOU?!"

"Get offa-"

"AND SOME LAVENDER, TOO!"

"No, not there-AAA!"

"I THINK I MISSED A SPOT!"

"Ichikaaaaaaaaaa! Heeeelp~~~~*"

Ichika didn't even bother. He collapsed on the floor, exhausted out of his mind, "You wanna go out for drinks?..."

Charlotte was so out of it, she welcomed the spilling of her tea on her lap, "...yeah...sure..."

Meanwhile, Lincoln bolted out of a pastry shop raising a bag high in the air, "MOCHI MOCHI MOCHI MOCHI MOCHI MOCHI~~~"

Laura and Kanzashi just waltzed right out.

"What is the matter with him?" Kanzashi wondered.

"I still have yet to understand that," Laura said.

"MOCHI MOCHI MOCHI MOCHI MOCH-ACK!" Lincoln kept running until he slammed into someone's- "So soft-HOLY!" and then toppled backwards and tried to crawl away.

"Hahah, don't worry about it!" The woman chuckled, "Everyone's gotta get a good _stuffing_ at least once in their lives, am I right?"

"Uh...yeah, if you say so," Lincoln said while being helped to his feet by the woman.

Who had blue hair and red eyes like Kanzashi did, but she was more curvaceous and slightly more playful, "So, you're the hot commodity I've been hearing about."

"Hot commodity?" Lincoln said while walking back.

"Ever since your little spiel about your family. The whole community's been abuzz about you."

"Ugh," Lincoln groaned, "Like I actually needed that..."

"Just wondering, though. You're not here by yourself, are you?"

"No, I'm with Laura and-"

Then, right in front of him, he heard something break.

Kanzashi had dropped her new figurine, in horror, as she saw the one person who kept her in the dark, the one person she did not want to see. The one person who she felt was ruling over her life. She ran away, surprising Laura.

"Dangit," Lincoln sighed, "And I just got her outta her room..."

"You...know her?..." the girl gasped.

"Kanzashi Sarashiki," Lincoln responded, "A toned down otaku who doesn't want to leave her room for some reason..." He scratched his head while Laura eyed his new companion very closely. "What's up, Laura? You see something?"

"Yes," Laura creeped closer to the girl, "By chance you are related to Kanzashi?"

"Hoo-boy..." The girl let out a giant sigh, "Y'all better walk me to your destination. This'll take a while..."

Later that night...

"Mmm...nnn...oh...ow, my head..."

Lori woke up from her lengthy slumber, drenched in warm liquid. "Ugh-ew-eewwww..." she ditched the wet towels and sheets, then crawled out of her capsule and wobbled her way to the bathroom. She washed off the grime from her body, but she couldn't wash away the lingering feeling that maybe, just maybe...this was all pointless. She already knew how Lincoln felt, so why did she want to see him? She looked down at her hands as she couldn't remember what urged her to leave her shelter.

Then, out of nowhere, "Hi, Lori!"

"AAAAAA!" Lori zipped back to her capsule.

While Leni approached her, "Oh, good! You're back to normal! I have so many outfits I need you to try on!"

"Leni?!" Lori panted, then grabbed her shoulders, "Are you out of your mind?!"

Leni looked up, then at her body, then at Lori, "It's supposed to be that way?"

"Ugh!" Lori drooped. She took some clothes and went outside, and was absolutely stunned by all the lights, the decorations, and the people. It was the most festive scene she had ever seen, and she knew what that meant. "Uh...quick question," she went back to Leni, "How long was I out?"

"You weren't out at all," Leni answered, "You were asleep for a few days."

"Days?!" Lori shouted, "You mean I slept all the way to-" she suddenly collapsed, "Ugh...what...what's happening to me..."

"Oh! Oh! I know what this is!" Leni wrapped herself with winter clothing and dragged Lori into the street, "You haven't eaten in days, so we need to get you some fuel! STAT!"

"What about our stuff?!" Lori panted before she looked over her shoulder and saw all of their belongings packed into two suitcases, hoisted over Leni's other hand.

"Oh, I got everything covered," Leni said, making Lori faint again.

When Lori awoke again, she found herself lying on a dining seat. "Oh my goodness..." she groaned, her head now in worse pain than earlier, "What's happened?..."

"Well, I saw you faint," Leni popped up from behind her, "so I figured I'd get you something to eat."

"Huh?..." Lori rolled her eyes downward and saw a fresh sushi platter, flame-broiled steak, and crisp salad, all in front of her, "The heck is all this?..."

"It's your food," Leni said, then she whispered, "I might've asked them for whatever's good for revitalization and...broke our card..."

Lori was shocked, to think that Leni went that far just for her, "Why..."

"Well, let's just say that I've gotten tired of not being able to do anything," Leni winked.

Lori bit her lip. All those times that Leni depended on her, and now it's the other way around. She was the one who needed Leni, despite saying that she couldn't help. And now, here she was, staring back at the days that Leni had to take care of her, after dragging their feet through miles and miles of snow and road, even though Leni herself chose to support her through the trip, effectively casting off her cushion.

Lori took a small bite of the food. Then, another. And then another. She savored each and every bit of food that passed her lips, but she couldn't look up, otherwise she'd risk showing her tears.

Thankfully, Leni wasn't very sharp, "How is it? Is it as good as they say it is?"

"Yeah..." Lori muttered, "It is..."

"Well, take your time to finish," Leni stood up, "because I just saw a really tasty dessert!" And chased after the waiter, 「チーズケーキが欲しい！」

「あなたは私から離れますか？！」

Lori used this time to recover from the trip and really think about her reason and purpose for coming to Shibuya, while Leni used this time to fool around some more.

At the next restaurant over, Chifuyu was having a meal all to herself, the first peaceful dining experience in months. She had made plans to join Ichika and his group at the shrine for the New Year celebration, but those plans would be upended by a chance encounter outside her seat. One look through the window let her see Leni enjoying her cake on a bench.

"Oh, fancy that," Chifuyu mouthed while waving to Leni, who waved back. As soon as her food was finished, she took one swig of sake and sprayed it, "PBBTT- **WHAT**?!"

Leni had full view of the grand spectacle when Chifuyu showed up, irritated beyond belief, "...WHERE...IS...SHE?..."

Lori had left the restaurant at that exact moment, when she saw Chifuyu, and looked away.

"Hey," Chifuyu said.

Lori didn't look up.

"Don't feel like it, Huh?" Chifuyu went on, "Well, I don't blame you...given everything Lincoln blabbed about...Is that what drove you to abandon shelter and come here?"

Lori looked away.

Chifuyu exhaled, "Come on, it's literally written all over your face. You're ashamed of what you've-" finger quotes "- _done_ -" regular speak "-and now you want him to say, "It's ok. I forgave you. We're still family." Right?"

Lori didn't say anything.

"Welp," Chifuyu slowly approached her, "You already know that's impossible, right? The way things are going right now, he's doing just fine with his new family. Why even bother?"

Lori gnarled, "I know that."

"What's that?" Chifuyu smirked, "Couldn't hear you over the runs."

"I KNOW THAT!" Lori screamed, stunning the entire block silent. Everyone was looking at her, but she didn't care. She only knew that she had to say everything that she wanted to say, and fast, "I KNOW THAT I AM THE LAST THING HE WANTS TO LOOK AT! I KNOW THAT HE HATES MY GUTS! BUT STILL, I HAVE TO TELL HIM SOMETHING! HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW I FEEL AFTER HE DID WHAT HE DID-HOW CAN HE?! HE'S FROLICKING AROUND IN LALA LAND WHILE I'VE BEEN TRAPPED IN THE BOONDOCKS WITH NOTHING TO DO BUT TWIDDLE MY THUMBS AND PONDER OVER LITERALLY THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF MY ENTIRE LIFE! FOR ALL ETERNITY, I MIGHT ADD!"

"And?" Chifuyu ignored everyone around her and focused only on Lori, "You honest-to-God expect sharing your true feelings is going to change anything?"

"WELL, WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT ME TO DO ABOUT IT?!" Lori was crying at this point, "I TRIED TO THINK OF ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING TO GET MY MIND OFF, BUT HE'S ALWAYS BITING AT MY BRAIN AND I CAN'T GET HIM OFF! YOU CANNOT EXPECT ME JUST TO IGNORE THAT FEELING!"

Chifuyu felt like she was onto something, but she needed Lori to undo her self-restraints in order to get to the true reason she left Hokkaido. To that end, "Pffttt...worked well before," Chifuyu resolved to make Lori angry, "Like when you ignored your family to come here. Or, psh-I dunno...when you ignored your brother to pursue your own goals? _Again_?"

That did it. Lori reacted by throwing a punch at Chifuyu. And it connected. Lori threw it with all her might trying to break Chifuyu's jaw...

...but it literally did _nothing_. Not even a noticeable bruise. It just aroused a smirk.

"Seriously?..." Chifuyu whispered, "That's all you have to show for it?..."

"Would you SHUT UP?!" Lori tried again to hit her, but her punch was caught, her arm was looped behind her, and her neck was caught in a lock.

"Lori!" Leni jumped in and tried to wrangle Chifuyu, but she was flipped over and slammed onto the cold grass, with Lori landing right on top of her, "Uhh...Lori?..."

"Lori ain't gonna listen," Chifuyu said, "Not only did she ignore the order to stay hidden until we sort this out," she says while leaning in to Lori's dead gaze, "but she ignored her own brain and flipped out over a reason. She shouldn't even be here, anyway. She should be hidden away...where no more bad can come to her? Hello?"

That jogged her memory a bit. Lori didn't know what to say to her. She remembered what her reason was, but she didn't know if Chifuyu would say anything back. She knew one thing was certain: if she didn't say anything about it now, Chifuyu would never let her live it down, especially after the first talk she had before the fall semester.

"You know what?" Lori slowly stood herself up, "I came here hoping to at least talk to him...to find out if he really does hate my guts!" When she stood up, she stared at Chifuyu with pure anger, "I thought I could get in at least a couple words with him, but here you are telling me it ain't with jacksquat!"

"All I did was ask you a question," Chifuyu responded, "A question demands an answer, don'tcha know?"

"The hell happened?!" Lori shouted, "You weren't like this when we first met!"

"Uh, because we first met. Now, I know the deal just as well as you do."

"No, you don't! You're dead wrong!"

"Oh? Well, why don't you correct me, then?"

Lori withdrew her arms and took a moment to breathe. Then, she finally said her mind, "Would an apology kill him?"

"Huh?" Chifuyu said.

"I said, would an apology kill him?!"

"Haven't you already tried that?" Chifuyu asked.

"No, I haven't!" Lori said, "And no, I don't care if he rejects us or not! He just needs to know!"

"Know what?" Chifuyu sighed.

"That we still care about him!" Lori was sputtering at this point, "That we still love him!...Even if!..." she fell to her knees and wept, "even if...he doesn't..." she lost all control and let out the tears. She finally saw why she left her shelter.

Lori would be okay if she and Lincoln were friends with restrictions, but by choosing to share his entire backstory with the world, he essentially gave away his connection with his own family. She finally realized what that meant.

Chifuyu could see that Lori had lost all her fight and moved towards her.

But Leni blocked the way, "Don't you dare-" But it took just one look in those brown death eyes "-EEP!..." for her to stand aside.

Chifuyu knelt down and whispered in Lori's ear, "Are you finally starting to see the core problem with your family?"

Lori didn't say anything. She simply nodded.

Chifuyu put her hands on Lori's hair, "Lift your head."

Lori looked up, tearfully longing for a cure for her heart.

Chifuyu didn't give her that exactly. Instead, she gave her a diagnosis, "Your bonds have been built from secrets and lies. You and your siblings gotten too comfortable manipulating things to suit your needs. It's time to change that."

Lori wiped her eyes, "nnn...how?...How do I get him back?..."

"I think you know," was all Chifuyu said to make Leni shudder.

"She knows...Huh?!" Leni screamed, "Back to school she goes?!"

"I'm afraid so," Chifuyu said, "You two left hiding and, I assume, have already caused a riot on your way over here. The IS Academy is the only safe haven left. There, no one can set foot inside, except authorized personnel... and students."

Lori froze. This would essentially be a complete reset on the last four years. Everything she learned, everyone she befriended...wiped out. But it would get her one step closer to Lincoln, who was at this point all that mattered to her. And then, a haunting thought had crossed her mind.

Now that Lincoln has essentially released information on her and how she corrupted Margo, how were her friends back home to think of her? How was Bobby to think of her? They knew how tightly knit their family was. If they knew that she did this to Margo, to Lincoln and Lynn, then they'd have questions for her. Especially Bobby. She had no care whatsoever for Kenneth, but had plenty of it for Bobby. And even then, she was overly obsessed with him, at one point spending nearly $5,500 on tablets, phones, and accessories just to keep Bobby in her heart and herself in Bobby's heart...at the expense of her brother. He'd ask her why, and she'd give some kind of reason to justify her actions, to which he'd respond...

"Why did you go along with his insane stunt? Why didn't you tell him to stop?"

At which point nothing she replied with would make any sense. There was nothing stopping her from setting him straight. Matter of fact, there was nothing stopping her from setting herself straight. Just this one point was enough to give him an opening to further question her on, until she couldn't come up with any more excuses. And then, he would declare their relationship over. She thought the same with her friends: they would distance themselves from her, until she was alone...until she had no one.

"Alright..." Lori muttered.

"Hm?" Chifuyu didn't hear her.

Lori said louder, "I will go back to high school..."

"Wha-you..." Leni stuttered, "You're going along with this?!"

"There's no where left for me to go..." Lori said, "...not without him..."

"I thought we were just gonna talk to him-I-wh-what-Huh?!"

"I don't know anymore... I just need to sort it out with him... and us...how to be a proper family without...dragging others down..."

Leni sighed. She honestly didn't expect Lori to do an about-face, but if this was how it would be, then Leni would have to step up big time, "Alright...so, I guess I'll have to take care of you until, you know...we get this mess dried off?..."

Chifuyu put Lori back on her feet, "I do have a condition, however." She then pulled the sisters in whispering range, and turned her voice cold, "This is the last time, you two. No more secrets. No more schemes. One hint of dishonesty from you, and I will leave you at the mercy of the world. Do I make myself clear?"

They both nodded.

"Well, then..." Chifuyu brushed the sisters off, "Lori Loud, I have received your intent to enroll." She then handed her a business card, "Come to my residence at this date and time, and we will begin the examination process." Then she left.

Lori looked at the card. She was to meet with the Brunhilde on January 1, 21:00, hours after the fireworks usher in the New Year. Even now,even though her body has fully recuperated, her mind would have no such treatment.

Leni put her hand on Lori's shoulder, "Are you absolutely sure about this? Do we know what this is gonna do to everyone back home?"

Lori didn't say anything, because that question came with too many answers for her to track. She was pondering over the consequences of what she had just done, and what she had just pulled Leni into, when, high above the sky...

BOOM!*PIFF!*PEWPEWPEW!*BOOMBOOM!*

...they saw the fireworks go off. The New Year had begun. Everyone around them turned their attention to the glimmer in the stars, but almost none of them were jubilant. They had just witnessed a challenge to better oneself, is particularly unforgiving way. No one knew what to make of the upcoming year.

But a certain group of people dd. Safely nestled in the Shininono shrine, Lincoln, Ichika, and their band of friends witnessed the full fireworks display and its vibrant meaning. They caught snapshots and selfies without a care in the world. Ichika was a bit concerned with how Chifuyu missed their private celebration, but he didn't seem to mind too much, as he had his little gang to keep him company. Plus, shortly before the celebration ended, he saw her silhouette standing outside the shrine, staring at the sky. That was enough for him, and he felt satisfied.

Except that wasn't Chifuyu's silhouette. It was M's. She happened upon the shrine and the fireworks while returning to her hideout, and saw Ichika and Lincoln celebrating their hearts out. She felt conflicted, seeing someone she despised sharing a breeze with someone who genuinely reached out to her...possibly the only person to do so. She quickly fled before she could be spotted, but the thought was stuck in the back of her mind: could she find someone who cares about her, broken as she was?

Someone already knew the answer. That blue-haired person was sitting atop Tokyo tower, spying on M and the ISL, with a fan that signed the kanji for "TEST". "Cuddling a broken heart are we?" She quipped. She saw the fireworks stop, and then saw the many families and couples in attendance embracing each other, hand in hand ready to welcome the new year. "Yeah, we most certainly are..." the girl sighed. She then saw Ichika's group high-fiving each, and a familiar-looking pair of blondes slowly walking back to their capsule, and decided it was time to take her leave, "Welp, it looks like it's game time for me." She deployed her IS and floated above the tower, unnoticed, "Team leader, Tatenashi Sarashiki...moving out."

The next day, in 1025, Lincoln filled the group in on what happened to him the past couple weeks.

"WHAT?!" Cecilia screamed, "Someone stole your IS?!"

"Ichika has a twin sister?!" Houki screamed.

"I have a twin sister that wants to kill Chifuyu and me?!" Ichika screamed.

"That was Tatenashi Sarashiki we just saw yesterday?!" Charlotte screamed.

"Tatenashi?! Kanzashi's twin?!" Rin screamed, "Actually an IS Representative?!"

"Yeah..." Lincoln and Laura answered while rubbing their ears.

"Dude, why didn't you tell us any of this earlier?!" Ichika asked.

"I told him not to," Charlotte stepped in, "I wanted us to use this holiday to rally ourselves for the upcoming semester."

"Fat lotta luck that did us," Rin scratched her head, "We're not ready for all of this."

"Well, school doesn't start for another week," Cecilia said, "So we still have time to prepare."

"I guess we're all clear on what we have to do now," Houki said, "Everyone head down to Arena 6. We got a massive game plan to develop."

"You got that right," Rin nodded, then nudged Laura, "想去做那件事嗎？"

"Oh, right, right," Laura followed her.

"Where're you two going?" Lincoln asked.

Laura quickly fibbed, "We have yet to complete our curriculum for combat training for each of you."

Everyone shivered.

"Ok...you do that..." Houki waved.

Meanwhile, Lori and Leni have arrived at the Orimua residence at the appointed time.

"Looks like this is it," Leni said, "Any last words before we..."

Lori had already rung the doorbell.

And Chifuyu had already answered, "So, you're here."

"Yes..." Lori said.

At which point the gate opened its doors to let them in.

"Everything's already set up," Chifuyu said, "Come on in."

"Lori," Leni called.

"What is it?" Lori simply asked.

"Um..." Leni could see in her sister's eyes, that she was determined to follow through with the plan no matter what, "...Good luck!" She quickly cheered, "And, you know I'll be here whenever you need-UAA!" She was interrupted by a hug from Lori.

"I know..." Lori whispered, "...and thank you."

Leni hugged back. Then, she let Lori go to venture into the Orimura residence. She felt a mixture of relief (that Lori has softened her mood and settled herself into her new role as an incoming high school student), responsibility (that Leni would now have to take the lead in caring for her new family away from the comfort of her house), and reckoning (as if the two had just started something irreversible, something that would have even more drastic effects on the entire world).


	8. A Conclusory Tale

One week later...

Ichika and Rin were having a practice match before school officially restarted. Ichika had the upper hand, but he lost by relying on surprise tactics, which cost shield energy to execute correctly.

"Cripes...lost again," Ichika said while he and Lincoln were walking to home room.

"And you were so close to winning that rouse," Lincoln muttered.

"I have to do something about the Byakushiki's fuel consumption."

"I have a suggestion..." Lincoln grinned, "...how about not relying on your hand cannon, Ignition Boost, and the Instant Death light saber so much?"

"Don't call it that!" Ichika griped.

Then they were suddenly blinded by a pair of ribbons.

"Guess who?"

"Huh? Guh-Huh?!" Ichika flinched at the sound of that playful female voice, "Who the heck is that?!"

But Lincoln didn't, "Uh-Tatenashi?"

"Ding ding ding! That's corre~ect!"

"He-hey!" Once the blindfolds came down, Lincoln turned around and greeted her, "Morning to you!"

"Same to you too, Lincoln," Tatenashi greeted, then turned a sharp eye to Ichika, "And you as well, Mr. Hot and Bothered."

"Hot and-" Ichika twitched, "What kind of hit-on is that?"

"Hahah, I got ya, didn't I?" Tatenashi giggled.

"Uh... yeah..." Ichika didn't seem the least bit amused.

"Well, I'll be seeing you two," Tatenashi waved.

"Um, see you," Lincoln waved back while she walked away.

Ichika was still dumbstruck at that brief but impactful interaction, "Um, Lincoln... you do realize who you just talked to, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Lincoln quipped back.

"Good," Ichika pulled up his bracelet clock, "because that..." and it showed 08:30, "...cost us."

"Dangidgits..." Lincoln suddenly let uneasy in his stomach.

That feeling reached his bowels when the boys were confronted by Chifuyu, "So...that's your excuse for being late?..."

"Yeah, there was this blue-haired girl, and she stopped us in the hallway!" Ichika rushed as fast as he could, "And I-we-uh-um..." but he was stopped dead cold.

Chifuyu gave them the death glare, "So, you two were late to my class because you prioritized a conversation with another girl ahead of your own education?"

And then Lincoln spoke up, "That's not what he said at all!" Sealing their fate.

Chifuyu turned to Charlotte, "Dunois, please demonstrate the rapid switch."

Like a puppet forced to swing its arms at its own people, Charlotte stood up and confronted Lincoln and Ichika. "Well," she said, "I'm sorry it came to this," as she deployed her IS and towered over the boys

"Whoa, nelly!" Lincoln freaked.

"Uh, hold on..." Ichika made a last ditch effort to appeal to Charlotte, "...Can we talk about this, Charlotte-buddy-old pal-" he was silenced by the gun barrel aimed at his mouth.

"I'm afraid not, Orimura," Charlotte said with a smile.

Ichika and Lincoln prepared for the worst.

"Now, observe! The Rapid Switch!"

And the boys went "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH~~~"

Meanwhile, in Class 1-2, the teacher pulled a big one, "Everyone...I would like to introduce our new student... but I think we already know her..." the door opened, "If you don't mind..."

The entire room tensed up. No one knew what to make of this sudden shake up. The new student didn't make things any easier, only making a single statement, "My name is Lori Loud, and I come from America. It is...nice to meet you..."

That got the entire room whispering:

"Did she just say Loud?"

"Oh no, another one..."

"We already have one headache in the other room!"

"Isn't she the one who-"

"What's she going to do to us?!"

"Everyone, please pay attention!" The teacher called, and the classroom went silent. "Now that we have attendance out of the way, it's time to go to the gymnasium. The faculty, staff, and student council have an announcement for us all."

It didn't help that Lincoln's class went directly ahead of hers; he could sense her at any time. Lori had to stay hidden, at least until the lunch period. During the assembly, She stayed near the back of the student body, trying to figure out what to say to Lincoln, if the early morning rumors were indicative enough of her tenure. She was caught in the weight of the words coming down on her, when she felt another weight come down on her shoulders. She turned around...

...it was Laura, "Shh."

... and Lingyin, "I see you."

Two familiar faces, the ones that allowed her to come to the Academy. Lori was relieved to see them again after the mind scrambling she went through.

After the assembly, Lincoln and Ichika were having a small discussion with each other, "Dang. Two culture festivals?"

"And that Tatenashi...she's the student council president...is she the one that orchestrated this?"

"Gotta be... I don't know who else has the balls to disrupt normalities like that."

"So...best be on our guard then. With everything that happened in the past six months-"

"Haha, yeah. For all we know, we could be flattened next week!"

"Thanks for jinxing my mood, bro."

"Anytime, _grandpa_!"

"Hey! Watch the hair!"

Lori was also relieved to see Lincoln relaxing around another man like him. Maybe she would have an easier time than she thought.

"Don't let your guard down."

Lori jolted.

"Relax," Laura suddenly popped up in front of her, "You have nothing to fear."

"Uh, yeah she does," Lingyin entered the conversation, "Have you seen the way you freakishly pop up in front of people now?"

"Hey, Lingyin," Lori said, "Long time no see."

"Glad you could make it," Lingyin smiled, "But everyone calls me Rin."

"Eyes forward," Laura said, "We have work to do."

She was right. Lori might be thinking that this was her chance to reconcile with Lincoln. But Laura and Rin had bigger plans in mind. Having witnessed multiple pasts collide with each other, they're determined to prevent them from causing any more chaos. And they're going to start with the Louds.

If they graduated without redemption, there would be no end to the cycle. That day marks the first day of work, setting up the framework for ending it all.

But like all construction work, their grand plan requires clearing the field. No matter how much it would aggravate them, they're not going to move forward unless it's completely cleared.


End file.
